Run Like Hell
by Narly2015
Summary: Starting three weeks after the events of the season 3A finale, the Teen Wolf characters battle all new monsters and create new alliances. Read and see our take on the rest of Teen Wolf, and the madness that is Beacon Hills.
1. Dead Woman Walking (3x13)

She opens her eyes suddenly. In her position she is laying down. She sees nothing. She tries to lift up her head and hits a hard, wooden surface. She moves her arms from her sides and touches a hard wall instantly.

It's then she realizes she's in a box. Her heart pounds as she begins to push on the sides and the top, hoping to get out. Nothing budges and she starts whimpering.

She pounds on the sides of the hard box. Her voice barely comes out of her throat as she begins to scream. Hot tears flood from her eyes.

After a few minutes, she gets tired and stops pounding. She lies still, crying. She lifts her hand to touch the wood. She has no idea how strong it is.

She breathes harder and realizes she might die if she doesn't get out. She could starve, she could run out of air, something could find her. She didn't even know where she was.

Her mind whirls as she tries to think of a way out. Suddenly, she starts moving from side to side, trying to move the box.

It doesn't budge. She tries and tries, but nothing happens. She cries even harder and punches the top of the box.

A cloud of dirt pours into the box all over her face. Her eyes widen as she realizes she is buried. But an idea hatches in her mind.

She musters up all her strength and punches the lid of the box again. More dirt files in. She punches again and again. Soon enough she is punching and crying, but she doesn't stop. Even when dirt starts filling the box, she keeps punching.

Eventually she makes a big enough hole to crawl out, but she's surrounded by dirt. She gets through the hole but her body screams for air. She reaches and pulls until her hand pushes through and she feels nothing. No dirt.

She begins to scramble to push and pull herself out. Digging and clawing to get out of the dirt.

Wood splinters pierce her body, but she doesn't notice. Her lungs beg for air and just when she thinks she can't go on she pushes the top of her head through. She can feel a cool breeze in her scalp and uses the last of her strength to pull herself all the way out of the hole.

She takes in gulps of air and slumps her body next to the hole where she was once buried and sobs. She cries until she can't cry anymore. She shakily pulls her body up, and notices the nearly full moon. With the little strength she has, she begins to walk away from the hole.

She doesn't know where she's going, but she just walks. Dirt falls from her as she slowly moves. With wet tears still on her face, she walks into the night.

_TEEN WOLF_

Allison lays in bed, tossing and turning. Her dreams are bad, she feels as though she's being suffocated yet all she sees is darkness. That's all her dreams have been since she, Scott, and Stiles had gone to The Other World to find their parents. She flips onto her side when suddenly she is shaken awake.

"Allison," her father says as her eyes flutter open, "Allison, wake up we need to go to the hospital immediately."

She quickly rubs her eyes and sits up in bed, "Why what's going on?" she asks, still groggy, "What's wrong?

"It's Gerard," he says flatly, a tone that matches his blank expression perfectly, turning away from his daughter to star down the hallway, "he's dead."

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott sits in his bed with War and Peace sitting open to the same page it had been on twenty minutes ago. He sighs and checks the clock, 3:22 AM. He barely slept anymore. For the last three weeks all he got were a few hours of sleep at night, and whatever sleep he could get during class.

He turns back to try and read the page when he hears a crash. It wasn't loud, but his werewolf senses picked it up easily. He puts the book on his night stand and sits up, listening intently.

He hears absolutely nothing. He stays upright for a few minutes and after nothing else, he lays back and closes his eyes. They burn from lack of sleep.

He almost begins to nod off when Isaac, who sleeps on a bed on the other side of the room begins to rustle and moan.

Scott opens his eyes and sighs. So much for that.

Isaac doesn't stop though, and soon enough he sits up quickly.

"Scott, something's wrong," he says, his eyes wide.

"Yeah it was just a little noise, I heard it too, but it's nothing. Go back to bed," Scott tells him.

"No, Scott. I feel something."

Scott opens his mouth to say something, but before he can Isaac is out of bed and heading for the door. Scott gets up and follows him all the way downstairs. Their instincts lead them to the back door of the house, which is located in the laundry room.

Scott leads the way quietly, and pauses just outside of the door leading into the laundry room, which is really nothing more than a washer, a dryer, and a basket or two of clothes. He reaches around the door and simultaneously turns on the light and jumps into the room with Isaac on his heels.

There, right before their eyes is a girl, sitting on the ground. The back door is wide open, and the chilly October air blows in. Both are ready to attack when the girl looks up and they recognize her face. Although she is covered in dirt and her hands are swollen and bloody, they would know her face anywhere.

"Erica?" Scott says.

The blonde begins to sob and shake and Isaac rushes to her side.

"Isaac, don't! She's supposed to be dead!" Scott whisper-yells, not wanting to wake his mom.

"Yeah, well how do you explain this, then?" he whispers back.

Scott slowly moves over to close the door as Isaac wraps the girl in his arms.

"Shhh," he whispers to her as she sobs. "I'm here, you're okay. Shhhh."

"Isaac, this is weird. I'm calling Derek," Scott tells him.

Isaac doesn't answer him and continues to hold the girl.

Scott dials the number and listens to the ringing on the other end. He is about to hang up after a few rings, but at the last second, the other line picks up.

"Scott," Derek says on the other end, offering up no other words.

"Derek, there's something going on here," he says to the man.

"Spit it out, McCall," Derek says with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"Erica's here. Well at least we think it's her."

On the other line, Derek exhales loudly, "It is."

"Wait, what? How? I thought she was dead?" Scott says, which causes Isaac to look up, curiosity lining his face.

"Yeah I thought so too. I don't know, Scott. But I can feel her. Just like I can feel Isaac and Jackson. Like I used to feel Boyd. It went away after the Alpha Pack… killed her. But I can feel it. And it's definitely her."

"This doesn't make any sense, I don't –"

Derek interrupts, "Look, neither do I. Just watch her. I'll be there tomorrow."

"So what, just let her sleep in my house?"

"Well, what else are we going to do, Scott? I don't know what this is, but all I know is she's alive. I gotta go. I'm going to do a few things here and then I'll be on my way. Be careful, Scott."

With that, Derek's line goes dead and Scott stands with his mouth open.

"What did he say?" Isaac asks.

"He says it's her. He says he can feel everyone he has turned, and he feels her again. I don't know how. But he's coming here tomorrow…" Scott trails off, obviously bewildered.

Isaac leans his head down and kisses Erica's head, even though it is covered in dirt.

"What happened, Erica?" he whispers.

For a moment, they don't think she'll answer, but in the faintest of voices she replies.

"I don't know."

_TEEN WOLF_

The hospital is as big and as loud as Allison remembered it had been when her mother had taken her own life. It was horrifying how in the face of death everyone around her seemed to be working at the same pace – although, they hadn't suffered any major loss. She thought, then again neither had she. Gerard may have been her grandfather by blood, but that was as far as the connection really went.

Through the small window she can see the body, covered with a plain white sheet. Although a few crimson stains marked the sheet.

"It looks like he did this to himself," says a short doctor with gray hair, "the marks on the body seem to tell us that he'd gotten a hold of some scissors and… well, I'll spare you the details. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Her father nods his head curtly and then turns his back on the doctor to stare at his daughter, sitting solemnly against the far wall. He approaches her hesitantly, not sure exactly what to say.

"Can we, uh, can we go?" the dark haired girl asks, staring up into her father's light blue eyes, "There's really nothing we can do here anyway, right? It's not important that we stay?"

Again, the man nods his head, "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Allison stands up and out of the blue wraps her arms around her father, "I'm sorry, daddy," she whispers.

He hugs her back, squeezing her tightly, "He made his bed," Chris whispers, "this was bound to happen someday."

"Are you going to call Uncle Ron?" she asks, as they head toward the elevator to leave.

"I did before we left, he said he should be here tomorrow by two with Camilla."

Allison nods her head in much the same way her father had, not saying anything anymore, simply staring at the shiny elevator doors, waiting to get out.

_TEEN WOLF_

The phone rings loudly and as Stiles reaches for it he slips out of bed and lands on the floor – hard.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," he shouts at no one, realizing he's alone in his room before grabbing the blue phone off of the bedside table and the charger as to put it to his ear, "Scott, what the hell man? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"It's Erica," Scott says intensely, "she's alive."

"Woah, woah, woah, Erica Reyes? The seizure-y girl who was turned and became super sexy hot? The dead werewolf? "

Scott sighs, "She's not very dead right now, Stiles. In fact she's sitting in front of me crying."

"How is she alive? I was pretty sure the Alpha Pack had made sure she was dead dead."

"How would I know?!" Scott exclaims into the phone.

"Dude, you're an Alpha now. Shouldn't you have some insight into all this crap?"

Stiles can almost hear Scott roll his eyes, "I'm still pretty clueless about all of this stuff, okay? All I know is that Erica is alive and that Derek, Isaac, and I can all one hundred percent feel that she's alive. Just get over here; we need all the help we can get."

The phone goes silent after that short instruction and begrudgingly, Stiles picks himself up off the floor and goes to grab a pair of jeans and a jacket. Nearly exiting the room before grabbing some tennis shoes to slip on, followed by the keys to his Jeep. He hurries down the stairs and to the kitchen, walking over to the fridge and to scribble a note for his father on the whiteboard, "_The dead are alive,"_ it says in Stiles' sloppy, circular handwriting, "_Be back soon."_

_TEEN WOLF_

Aiden stares at Lydia who sits calmly on her bed, fiddling absent mindedly with her fishtail braid.

"So you're not upset," he asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

She shakes her head, "Why would I be? You and I weren't ever anything more than casual. Sure I saved your life, but that doesn't mean I want to be with you for the rest of eternity. You were a distraction – exactly what I needed."

"It's just, Deucalion is leaving and Ethan and I are both going with him. We have to, we're both part of the Alpha Pack, ya know?"

Lydia laughs and gets up from her spot on the bed, walking over to the boy in the leather jacket, "I'm not all that interested in the tiny details. Now, do you want one last roll in the hay before you leave or are you planning on just patting me on the back and saying 'Atta girl'?"

The corner of Aiden's mouth pulls into a smile as he begins to shed his jacket and shirt as Lydia slides out of her light pink nightgown.

"Atta girl," Aiden chuckles as Lydia smashes their mouths together.

_TEEN WOLF_

"What the hell is going on here, man," Stiles says to Scott. He is pacing the floor and running his hand through his already messy hair.

"I don't know. Nobody knows!"

The two are in Scott and Isaac's room while Isaac is in the bathroom, cleaning Erica up.

"When she got here, she was covered in dirt. Her hands looked like she had destroyed something. Do you think she got out of her grave?" Scott asks.

Stiles stops pacing, but doesn't answer.

In the bathroom, Isaac runs the showerhead over Erica's hair as she sits in the tub.

She is naked, but neither one cares. Right now, they were just happy to have each other again.

"I missed you, Erica," Isaac tells her softly, making sure not to get soap in her eyes.

Erica smiles gently, still shaken up. She hadn't spoken since she was downstairs.

Isaac turns away after handing her a washcloth and lets her wash her body.

After a little over a minute, Erica quietly says, "Isaac."

He turns back and sees she placed the dirty washcloth on the edge of the tub, signifying she was done.

"You ready to get out?" he asks her.

She nods in reply. He grabs a towel from the small closet and turns back to her.

"Do you want me to hand it to you, or do you need help?" he asks gently.

"Help," she says in a small voice.

Isaac, with the towel in hand, leans in and grabs her hand. When he does, he notices the nasty bruises and cuts. His heart sinks when he thinks of why she got the wounds.

He pulls her up and carefully wraps her in the large towel. With him still supporting her, she steps out of the tub. She nearly slips, still weak, and he holds her steady. In one swift movement, he lifts her into his arms and cradles her like a baby.

He looks down at her face before moving, checking to see if she was okay with him carrying her, because he knows the Erica he knew before wouldn't ever allow it. But when he looks down, she looks calm and sad. Even still a little scared. But in his arms she relaxes and cuddles up to his chest.

He carries her out of the bathroom and enters his and Scott's room. He makes his way to the bed and sits with Erica still cradled against him.

"Guys, could you give her some privacy?" Isaac asks.

The two nod and exit the room.

"Do you need my help anymore, Erica?" he asks. She nods ever so slightly.

He takes her off of his lap and gets up to grab one of his t-shirts and a pair of boxers.

He hands them over and once again turns around while she dresses. After a minute or two, he feels a hand on his back and he turns.

Erica removes her hand and scoots back on the bed. Isaac grabs a brush before he goes back to sit next to her.

He starts to hand her the brush but stops. Her hands look terribly painful.

He repositions himself behind her and begins to brush her hair. She tenses at first, but after a couple seconds she relaxes and leans back into him.

When he finishes, he puts his arms around her from behind and they sit like that for a few minutes.

"Erica," he whispers. "Did you have to break out from the box we buried you in?"

Erica nods. Suddenly, she moves out of his arms and turns around so she can face him.

"The last thing I remember is being captured. They… they did so many things to me I—"

"Shhh, shhh," Isaac says. "It's okay. I know. You're safe now, I promise. You're with your brother."

Erica nods as tears slowly run down her face.

"Let me see your hands," Isaac says.

She lifts them and lays them in his own. Not only are they swollen and red and purple, but he can see bits of wood in them.

"Why aren't you healing yet? I can still feel you like I did before, so you must still be a werewolf. But nothing is getting better…" Isaac tells her.

"Why am I alive?" she says quietly. "That's the real question."

Isaac doesn't say anything back.

After a few minutes, he stands up. He notices a bit of worry in her face and says, "Hey, I'll be right back. I'm just going to talk to Scott and Stiles, okay? Then we can go to bed. Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

Erica relaxes and nods.

Isaac leaves the room and finds Scott and Stiles in the kitchen.

"Has she said anything?" Scott immediately asks.

"She doesn't know anything," Isaac shrugs. "The last thing she remembers is being tortured."

"So she just woke up?" Stiles asks.

"Yeah. She woke up in her grave and had to punch and dig her way out," Isaac says with sorrow in his voice. "I can't imagine what that must've been like."

The three are silent for a beat, thinking about the horrors she must've faced.

"And she isn't healing like a wolf does," Isaac adds. "Her hands are terrible and she has bruises and wounds everywhere. But they're staying there."

"So what, is she not like a werewolf anymore?" Stiles asks.

"No," Scott answers for Isaac. "Derek can feel her the same way he did when she was a wolf."

"And I can again too. I didn't know what it was before when she first got here, but now I do. I can feel my sister again," Isaac tells the two.

The boys ponder the predicament but come up with no answers.

Isaac turns to make his way back upstairs and says, "Erica's staying in my bed with me tonight. She needs to be with her pack. Or what's left of it anyways."

Scott nods and watches Isaac disappear into the house.

When Isaac gets back, Erica is resting above the covers on his bed.

"Erica," he calls softly.

She opens her eyes, fear apparent, but when she identifies Isaac she relaxes.

"Time for bed, okay?" he says. She nods once again.

She allows him to lift her up and place her under the blankets. He walks around to the other side of the bed and slides in next to her. She flips over to face him.

He faces her and smiles, "I'm glad you're back."

She doesn't answer, but instead snuggles up against his chest.

He breathes in her familiar scent and puts his arms around her. He kisses her forehead, glad to have his sister back.

The two fall asleep within minutes, finding a true calming in being with each other.

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia and Allison walk down the hallway side by side, Lydia carrying a large philosophy book with her, "So your uncle is coming to town," the red head says, "he isn't a psycho killer like your aunt was, is he?"

Allison shakes her head no, "He's much tamer than she is, at least that's how I remember him. I haven't seen or heard from my Uncle Ron in at least twelve years."

"And he's got a daughter," Lydia adds as they reach her locker. Lydia quickly puts in the combination– 12, 34, 22, - and looks back at her best friend after checking her lip-gloss in the tiny, pink framed mirror hanging on the door, "Is she a whack job? And is she a Hunter too or is that strictly your thing?"

"She was pretty regular the last time I saw her, but she was five then and she's seventeen now. A lot can change in all those years. As for the Hunter business, I'm not sure. She's an Argent so I'd imagine she is. Although Ron may not have told her yet," the taller girl sighs, "but they'll be here sometime today. Guess I'll find out. Anyway, what's going on with Aiden and Ethan?"

"Oh that," Lydia drawls, "apparently the Wolf Twins are leaving with that one head Alpha. Aiden didn't really give me a lot of details… or maybe he did, I really wasn't all that interested. Just one more man to up and leave me."

"Are you sure they both left?" Allison questions.

Lydia nods her head, "That's what Aiden told me. Why?"

All the Argent girl does is point one slim finger. Lydia whips her strawberry blonde head around to see Ethan and Danny walking down the hallway holding hands. The shorter girl, without thinking, takes off to question the remaining twin.

"Hey Lydia," Danny says as he puts his combination in.

"What the hell, Ethan?" she asks sternly, completely ignoring Danny's greeting, "Your brother told me you were leaving."

Ethan nods his light brown head, "Yeah, he left. I chose to stay, our… uh… dad said we had a choice and I definitely had reason to stay," he says as he looks over at Danny. The dark haired boy looks down and blushes.

Lydia groans and turns on the heel of her boot, walking back to Allison who's waiting patiently at her locker, "That ass-hat chose to leave," she informs her, "I wasn't enough reason to stick around. What a load of crap."

"Um, excuse me," says an auburn haired boy from beside the two girls, "I kind of need to get to my locker."

Lydia's brows draw together, "Who are you?"

"Nolan Hayes, I just moved to town," he says nicely enough to instantly get on Lydia's good side.

Lydia stares into his blue-gray eyes for a moment before saying, "Hm. Nice to meet you, Lydia Martin and this is Allison Argent," she informs him pointing from herself to her friend. The boy smiles and halfheartedly says 'Hey' before opening his locker and grabbing a Chemistry book.

"See you around," he says before walking away.

"Here's hoping he's not some supernatural miscreant," Lydia says, evoking a giggle from Allison.

It's in that moment that everything seems to freeze. It's like she's being plunged into the icy water again, Allison can feel her eyes widen as she stares ahead to see Mr. Harris, her ex-chemistry teacher, walking down the hall – he smiles at her deviously before fading away. In a moment of confusion and panic, from the sinking feeling, Allison nearly collapses to the tiled floor of the hall.

"D-did you see that?" the brunette stutters grabbing on to Lydia's shoulder to help steady herself.

"See what?" Lydia asks, turning her head to look in the direction Allison was staring.

"I just saw Mr. Harris walking down the hall."

Lydia scoffs, "That's not possible, the Darach killed him. Remember? He was missing for a while and then the Sheriff's department found his body tied to a tree or whatever. Blood, decomposition, gore. There's no way you saw Harris."

Across the building, Scott and Stiles walk down the nearly empty hallway, on their way to Economics. Their talk had moved on from the upcoming Lacrosse game to Erica's return.

Stiles looked around before asking, "And you're sure she's not some devil possessed, Werewolf nut-job who's going to go crazy and try to slaughter all of Beacon Hills?"

Scott sighs, "I don't know that Stiles. All I know is that to Isaac and me she feels like Erica."

"Okay, but how do you know what she 'feels' like?"

"It's some werewolf thing, I don-" Scott trails off, looking ahead of him as he sees a man wearing glasses walking toward them. His mind fills with questions as Mr. Harris struts toward him and Stiles.

Stiles slaps Scott on the shoulder and spits out, "Do you see that?"

Scott doesn't move. He doesn't say anything. He just watches as the allegedly dead teacher continues to walk toward them, but evaporates before he touches either of them. The feeling the boys have then is something they hadn't felt since being in The Other World. It feels like they're sinking again – like they're being held under ice cold water.

It was like death.

"What the hell is this," Stiles asks, "Day of the Living Dead?"

_TEEN WOLF_

Isaac sits on the couch with Erica, who is napping. When they awoke this morning, Erica's wounds were all healed and she was a lot calmer. But she was nowhere near her normal self.

Isaac decided not to go to school with the others to stay and take care of Erica. It was almost time for school to be let out, so he was expecting them home soon.

Scott's mom was cool with Erica staying, although she did need to sit down and fan herself after they told her she came back from the dead. But she understood that Erica wasn't fully herself, and needed help from the boys.

Isaac glances over at the resting girl and smiles. Unexpectedly, Isaac's phone starts vibrating and Derek's name appears on the screen.

"Hello?" he answers, trying not to awaken Erica, to no avail.

She rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks at Isaac, listening.

"Isaac, I'll be there in a few hours. How's Erica?" Derek asks.

"She's good. She just woke up from a nap, but she healed okay and ate a little."

"Ok. Well you guys have a spare key to the loft, so go there. I don't know how long I'm staying, but I want Erica to stay there with me."

Erica, overhearing what Derek said, gets a look of worry on her face. Her relationship with Derek wasn't exactly the best.

"Um, uh, can I stay there too?" Isaac asks, understanding why she was worried. "Scott's room is kind of cramped, and your loft would be… well… loftier."

"For now," Derek replies. "We need to get down to the bottom of this. So move your stuff into the loft and be there when I get here. Tell Scott to come too."

Derek doesn't say another word and hangs up.

"So we're staying with Derek?" Erica asks.

"I guess," Isaac replies. "That should be fun."

_TEEN WOLF_

"Camilla and Ron are here Allison!" Chris yells.

Allison blows out a breath and leaves her room. When she gets to the foyer, she sees her cousin and uncle standing with suitcases surrounding them.

"Hey, Armpit," Camilla says when she notices Allison. She smiles and crosses the floor to give Allison a big hug.

Allison returns it with sincerity.

"You're still going to call me that? C'mon I was 7!" she laughs.

"Hey, it sticks," Camilla jokes. Allison takes in her cousin's appearance. She was curvy, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was basically a goddess with her naturally tanned skin.

"Allison, Camilla will be staying in your room until they find a place of their own, okay?" Chris tells his daughter.

"A place of their own? What?" she asks, confused.

"Didn't they tell you?" Camilla asks. "We're moving to Beacon Hills. Dad says that all the shit they've got going on here is too much excitement for one little town."

"Camilla watch your mouth!" Ron gasps. "And also because Gerard's death made me realize I wanted to be closer with my family, because you never know when something crazy might happen."

They all nod and stay silent until Chris speaks up, "Well how about some food? You guys hungry?"

"Starving!" Camilla exclaims, dragging her suitcase behind her.

"Okay, well you two go set up in Allison's room and we'll order a pizza or something. Camilla, you still just like cheese pizza?"

"Only cheese, please," she replies to her uncle with a smile.

The two girls make their way to Allison's bedroom and Camilla immediately flops down on the bed.

"You know, the real reason is because your dad told mine about all the things you guys have gone through here, and he thinks it will be a good way to complete my training," the pretty girl tells Allison.

"Wait, so you know everything that's happened?" Allison questions, shocked.

"Oh yeah. My dad tells me everything. Like you dating a wolf? That's gold," she says.

"Trust me, my life's not that great," Allison mutters. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Camilla sighs, "I wish we had a choice, you know? Instead our whole lives are just decided for us."

Allison studies her cousin carefully, agreeing with her.

"You know, I haven't even killed one yet," Camilla says quietly, picking at her nails. "And honestly? I don't want to. I don't want this life. But moving here is just going to ensure it all."

"You wanna get out, huh?" Allison asks.

"I do. Don't you?"

Allison shrugs, "I want to. But I can't. Not now anyways."

Camilla sighs, "So are you still friends with the werewolves? How does that even work?"

"It's complicated, to say the least," Allison tells her cousin.

_TEEN WOLF_

Isaac and Erica sit on the couch in Derek's loft. Scott stands while Stiles sits on the armrest next to Erica.

The four sit in silence, waiting for Derek to arrive.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't asked about Boyd," Isaac says to Erica.

The blonde shrugs, "Well he hasn't been around and I don't feel him anymore, so I just assumed the worst…"

Isaac grimaces and reaches over to hold her hand.

All of a sudden, the door opens and Derek is there. Holding a duffel bag. Stiles and Isaac stand up. Erica begins to, but Derek says, "Don't. You're weak. It's okay."

Erica doesn't know what to say, so she keeps her mouth shut. Derek continues to stare at her and slowly makes his way towards her.

Isaac sits back down and keeps his eyes on Derek.

"Uh, hey Derek," Stiles says.

Derek doesn't even look at the boy, but continues moving closer.

"Okay," Stiles says in response to being ignored.

Derek stops a few feet in front of the couch and drops his bag.

"It's really you," he says, not taking his eyes off of her.

"It's me," she says.

Erica's heart beats fast, but she's not scared. She can see no cruelty in Derek's eyes. No matter what she did in the past, he wasn't angry.

Unafraid, she stands up slowly to face her once alpha.

"Are you okay?" he asks with true sincerity.

She nods and before she knows it Derek has her wrapped in his embrace.

Nobody expects it and Isaac stands up again, at first afraid he is going to hurt her. But when they all realize his true actions, they relax a little.

It takes Erica a moment to hug the man back. She is shocked at his actions, but his touch surprisingly soothes her and she closes her eyes.

"I thought you were gone," Derek whispers in her ear.

"I'm here now," she replies.

_TEEN WOLF_

_A/N: Welcome! Thanks for reading. This isn't cannon with the show. Although we might take elements from it! Please review! We're going to try and post every week, but it might not always happen! Also, we introduced original characters, so to help you visualize them, we have certain actors to take their roles. For Camilla: Sofia Black D'Elia, for Nolan: Logan Lerman, and for Ron: Titus Welliver. We hope you like what we're doing with this, so favorite, follow, and most importantly, review! Thanks again! – Narly_

_Also, if you happened to read it when it wasn't divided correctly, we apologize! Something messed up but it should be fixed now with TEEN WOLF as the transition between different scenarios. _


	2. Insomniac (3x14)

"Erica!" Derek calls out into the open night. Trailing beside him, Isaac calls out the blonde's name too.

The two had been trailing her scent for nearly a half hour, to no avail.

They traipse through the woods, still seeing no signs of the girl being there. Only their keen senses tell them she had.

Before they know it, they come upon a clearing where Erica stands still, her back to them.

Isaac rushes forward and grabs a hold of her, afraid she might get away again.

"Erica, what are you doing out here? It's freezing!" Isaac exclaims. He takes his jacket off and places it around her cold shoulders. All she's wearing is a t-shirt and a pair of Isaac's boxers; they still hadn't gone out to get her clothes. Despite them being wolves, it was still pretty chilly.

Derek comes up closer to the two and looks into her eyes. She seems to look back, but there is a blankness in her gaze.

"Erica," he says softly. She doesn't reply. Just doesn't even register him being directly in front of her. He grabs her shoulders and shakes her gently, "Hey. Erica. C'mon, we need to get back to the loft."

The girl still doesn't say a word and doesn't react to his touch. He sighs and lets go.

"Thank God I got back in town today," Derek says. "Something is definitely not right."

Isaac nods and says, "So what are we going to do? She's in some sort of trance, how can we get her back to the loft?"

Without answering, Derek scoops up the girl and begins to walk back the way he and Isaac came.

"I guess that's one way," Isaac says quietly before jogging to catch up.

A few minutes into walking Erica blinks hard and looks up at Derek, confused.

"What is going on? Where are we? Why are you carrying me?"

Derek stops walking and looks at the girl in his arms.

"We should be asking you that," he tells her. When she shows no signs of knowing what he means he adds, "Isaac woke up in the middle of the night to find you gone. We followed your scent and found you here, half-naked."

"I'm wearing boxers and a shirt," Erica huffs. "And apparently Isaac's jacket."

With no words, Derek places Erica on her feet. He doesn't let go of one of her arms, though, and says, "Can I trust you to walk back to the car with us?"

"Yes, I'm not a baby," Erica says, ripping her arm away.

"Well, you'd think you'd understand my worry, due to the fact that you haven't been yourself since you dug yourself from your grave," Derek nearly shouts.

Pain crosses Erica's face as she remembers, but just as quickly as it comes, it leaves, and she says, "Well, I feel fine now. Maybe I just needed some rest and fresh air. Can we just go now?"

Derek shakes his head and begins to walk. Isaac catches up with him, leaving Erica to trail along.

"Stay by her, please," Derek says in an annoyed tone.

"I will, I just wanted to ask you what the hell is happening? She seems totally fine now, when just a few hours ago she was quiet and scared. I don't get any of this."

"Neither do I. Let's not forget the fact that she also happened to come back from the dead. Nothing makes sense right now, we just need to watch her."

Isaac agrees and slows down to walk with Erica.

"I could hear you guys, you know," she says to him.

Isaac looks over at her and grimaces. He moves closer and puts his arm around her.

"I know. We're just confused. I know it's not easy for you either."

She nods and rests her head on his shoulder, "I just want to know how I came back. And why."

"Me too," he replies.

"Speed it up," Derek says.

Erica rolls her eyes but the two don't speed up their pace.

_TEEN WOLF_

Stiles opens his eyes to find himself facing a lake. He can see the moon behind dark clouds. He looks around and has no idea where he is.

He stands still, not sure what to do. He has no idea how he got here.

Before him, the once still lake begins to move. Stiles starts to back away, keeping his eyes glued to the moving surface. Somewhere near the middle of the body of water, something pokes out. It moves from the center to the edge. As it gets closer, more of it begins to show, due to the water getting shallower.

Soon enough, Stiles can tell it's a person. A woman. She slowly makes her way through the water, more than half of her body is showing now. Stiles keeps backing away.

The woman keeps moving towards him and soon enough she is out of the water. She stops walking for a few seconds, and Stiles can see the lake water dripping from her.

She begins to walk towards him, and he turns to run. When he turns around, she is there, right before him.

His eyes go wide as he recognizes her. His mother. And it is not water that is dripping from her, but blood.

He stops moving, his heart pounding way too fast. His mother smiles and reaches out to touch his face. Frozen with fear he lets her.

She moves her other hand to grab one of his own, and she begins walking with him, back to the lake.

His fear stopped his reactions for a moment, but he starts to pull away. His instincts scream at him to run.

His mother's grip is tight and it doesn't falter. She is incredibly strong and she continues to drag him towards the lake. He glances behind her to see that the lake is no lake of water, but a pool of blood. Just like what his mother was covered in.

He struggles to free himself, but he cannot get out of her hold. His feet touch the blood, which is surprisingly ice cold.

"Stop!" he yells. His mother turns and a look of pure evil crosses her face. She takes both hands now and pulls him farther down.

He has no way to escape, her strength is too much for him.

As they get farther and farther in, Stiles starts to scream and call for help. Terror fills him as he realizes nobody is there to hear him.

By now, the blood is up to his neck and Stiles braces himself. After a few moments it begins to fill his mouth.

He spits it out, but more just fills its place. He keeps getting pulled farther and farther until his whole body is under. He keeps his eyes closed, afraid. He holds his breath.

Even though he is fully under, his mother keeps pulling him farther down. Soon, his head feels light and his lungs burn. He tries to hold on but he accidently inhales and begins to choke. Blood fills in everywhere, blocking everything. His head starts to pound and he keeps going down, dragged along.

His feet no longer touch the ground, but he doesn't try to kick. He relaxes and gives in, letting the blood fill him, and letting his mother drag him farther, his body gone forever in the sea of red…

Stiles awakens from his nightmare, choking and coughing. Sweat drenches his clothes, his sheets are soaked too. His heart beats as fast as it did in his dream and he looks around.

He is safe in his bedroom. He shakes as he tries to calm himself down. It is still dark outside. He checks his alarm clock, 4:47 AM.

Stiles runs his hand across his face, wiping the sweat from it.

He exhales loudly and lies awake, still terrified.

_TEEN WOLF_

The sleek Porsche turns quickly into the high school parking lot, all too eagerly cutting off Stiles' blue jeep. The boy behind the wheel of the jeep slams on his horn, although the Porsche continues – pulling in to the spot Stiles had hoped to get.

"Son of a bitch," the brunette whispers, waiting for the driver of the car to get out. And when he does, Stiles sits behind the wheel, mouth agape.

He should've known who it was the second he saw the familiar emblem of the car.

As Jackson Whittemore steps out into the cool October air, tossing a leather jacket over his shoulder and adjusting his sunglasses, he smiles widely and says to no one in particular, "It's good to be home."

As Stiles watches, both confused and somewhat angry, Jackson continues on toward the front doors of Beacon Hills High School.

Walking into the building gave Jackson an odd sense of nostalgia; it hasn't been that long since he's been here - only two months or so – yet it almost felt like he's been gone a hundred years. He continues forward, passing a group of younger girls who stare at him with wide eyes. He knows that this is an expression he'll be seeing a lot today.

He makes his way down the hallway, coming up to the main office doors when out of nowhere Lydia appears, her face pulled into a scowl.

"Would you care to explain to me what the hell you're doing here?" she asks in her 'I'm pissed off, don't BS me' tone that Jackson is all too familiar with.

"Good to see you too, Lydia," he smiles, ignoring her tone completely, "how's my girl?"

She frowns, "Oh I'm fantastic; making good grades, meeting new people, getting over your sorry ass… speaking of, what the hell are you doing here?"

He sighs and moves his arm so that the jacket is no longer over his shoulder, "I'll tell you another time. The fact is I'm back and I'm here to stay. If you see McCall, let him know for me… now if you'll excuse me I've got a schedule to pick up and you have two confused looking brunettes waiting back there for you." Before he moves on, he gives his head a nod in their direction, a bright smile flashing.

Lydia turns her head slightly to see Allison and Camilla standing in the door way that leads to the science department. She turns back around just in time to see the offices door shut and Jackson standing at the front desk talking to the secretary.

With a huff, the strawberry blonde makes her way back to her friends – one of which has a million questions for her.

"Was that Jackson?" Allison asks once Lydia is standing in front of her.

"Yes, yes it was," the shorter girl replies flatly.

"And what is he doing back?" Allison follows up as Camilla quietly asks "Who's Jackson?"

"I don't know and frankly, I don't care. I am one hundred percent over Jackson I'm-going-to-London-oh-wait-now-I'm-back Whittemore. Let's just get to chemistry."

"Wait," Camilla remarks, hurrying over to a boy who's bent down picking up spilled books.

The two girls watch as Camilla helps Stiles pick everything up.

"Oh," Stiles says, looking up and making eye contact with his friend's cousin, "oh wow, uh, thank you. Thanks. Thanks a ton. Thank you."

The dark haired girl hands the boy a literature book and takes a step back, "Yeah no problem, dude," she says hurrying back over to Lydia and Allison.

"I'll, uh, I'll see you around!" Stiles hollers after her, letting out a sigh at how smoothly he hadn't handled that situation.

"Unbelievable," Lydia remarks going down the hallway, "Aiden, Jackson, and now Stiles… this is some serious horse…" the rest is lost though as the three girls walk into the chemistry room.

The five minute bell rings then, just as Scott walks into the building, "Hey man, I talked to Deaton."

"Yeah?" Stiles asks as the two boys walk down the hall – also headed for chemistry.

"Apparently us seeing Mr. Harris yesterday has to do with the whole dying and coming back thing," Scott says, "this is just the sort of thing he'd warned us about before we went under. So I guess it's to be expected."

"Yeah, seeing your dead-due-to-sacrifice teacher is totally the thing I'd had in mind."

The pair steps into Mrs. Trumbolt's classroom and sit down at their side-by-side seats, which just so happen to be behind Allison and Camilla.

Once again, Stiles is flustered over Allison's cousin as she asks, "Is it just me or does Trumbolt look way too much like the ugly duckling from _Chicken Little_?"

Allison chuckles while Stiles full out laughs, awkwardly saying, "Oh yeah, yeah she does. God you're funny."

Camilla turns away from the brown haired boy and whispers to Allison, "Is he mental?"

"That's just Stiles," the short haired girl whispers back, "you'll get used to it."

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Lydia looks down at page 223 in her chemistry text book, the page Mrs. Trumbolt had just asked everyone to flip to. Just as the bell rings, Jackson walks in – grabbing everyone's attention, including Lydia's. She huffs and rolls her eyes saying under her breath, "Relax people, it's just the town ass."

"Jackson's back?" Scott asks anyone in his group of friends.

Stiles is the first to respond, "As of this morning I guess. Anyone know why he's not in London anymore though?"

"Nope," Allison answers, "he just is… Lydia isn't pleased about it though."

"She can hear you," the girl in question snaps, "and I'm not simply 'displeased.' I'm full blown pissed off."

"Oh yes," the kids hear the teacher say, "just have a seat back there."

The five kids then watch as Jackson struts between the aisles of lab tables and takes a seat beside the new kid, Nolan. The auburn haired Nolan briefly looks up at Jackson and then looks back down at his open notebook, uninterested.

"Of course he's in this class," Lydia huffs, looking back at her textbook.

Everyone's attention then turns to Mrs. Trumbolt, while Jackson shifts on his stool and looks over at Nolan.

"I'm Jackson Whittemore," he says quietly, "and you are?"

Not looking up from his notebook he says flatly, "Nolan Hayes, it's a pleasure."

Jackson feels his brow furrow at the lack of interest this boy has in him, "What are you drawing?"

The boy looks up now and stares at Jackson with pale blue eyes, "It's nothing. Just a symbol I keep… it's nothing. So, uh, from the looks on everyone's face in here you aren't so new."

Jackson nods his head, glad that the boy has taken an interest, "Yeah, I went to London for a semester. All boy's school and everything, but I'm back now."

Nolan nods, "Why'd you leave?"

"It's complicated."

"It always is," the auburn haired boy replies calmly, looking away again to focus back on his drawing.

As the teacher continues her lecture on how to properly use the Bunsen burner, Jackson feels a tap on his shoulder. Upon turning around he sees Danny, sitting behind him with a confused expression on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Danny asks, Jackson was once his best friend.

Jackson sighs, "It was kind of a spontaneous thing, you know?"

"Alright everyone," Mrs. Trumbolt says excitedly, "now if you'll get out the Bunsen burners, we'll begin the lab!"

Making her way around each table, the teacher hands each set of students the materials they'll need for the lab. Looking at Allison who's busily getting the Bunsen burner out from the cabinet, Lydia says quickly, "I'll be right back."

The shorter girl sets her black pen down in the center of her book and walks back toward Jackson and Nolan. She smiles at the auburn haired boy and then looks lovingly at Jackson, taking her finger to slowly draw little designs on the boy's arm.

"Jackson, sweetie, I forgot to bring a pen," she lied sweetly, "do you think you could lend me one?"

Pulling his arm away from his ex-girlfriend, Jackson shakes his head, "I don't think so. I'm sure McCall or Allison has one, ask one of them."

Standing shell-shocked, Lydia feels the smile she'd been wearing fade as she stormed off back to her seat.

"Did he just…?" Scott begins.

Stiles nods his head, "Totally blow her off, oh yeah."

"What's up with that?" Scott asks.

"One of you is going to need to explain this to me," Camilla says sharply, "Armpit kind of left out who square-jaw is."

"Armpit," Scott laughs, "why didn't you tell your cousin who Jackson is?"

Allison covers her mouth as she tries not to laugh herself, "Jackson is Lydia's ex-boyfriend. He was a Kanima for a while – which I'll tell you all about when we get home – and now he's a werewolf."

"Yeah," Stiles adds, "and before summer ended he went off to some hoity-toity, all boys school in London that's super pompous and totally in character for Jackson."

"Is there anyone around here who isn't tied up in the supernatural world somehow?" Camilla asks, genuinely curious.

The three kids look around and then settle on using Nolan as an example, "As far as we know the new kid isn't some kind of unnatural abomination," Scott says, "then again he's only been here a few days… so maybe I spoke too soon."

"You don't think…" Stiles asks.

"In Beacon Hills, a town which is basically a Supernatural Whos-it, I'd say it's completely possible. I mean, for all we know Mrs. Trumbolt is another Darach," Scott says, as the four of them turn and glance at their chemistry teacher who slowly takes a sip of coffee.

"A Darach?" Camilla asks.

"At home," is all Allison says, as she begins to work on the lab. "Would you hand me the sodium?"

_TEEN WOLF_

Erica sits on Derek's couch, painting her nails when in walks Peter, no knock announcing his arrival.

"Well if it isn't the ghost of werewolves past. How are you sweetheart?" Peter asks with a smirk.

Erica looks up and rolls her eyes, then refocuses her attention to her nails.

"Okay, nice chat," the man says, putting his hands in his pockets and walking away.

Before he can get far, Derek blocks his path.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, arms crossed over his chest.

"What with all the commotion, I figured I'd stop by. Thanks for telling me about Blondie over here, by the way," he says, gesturing to Erica.

"You're not a part of the pack, why would you care?" Derek asks.

"I've always had an interest in her," Peter replies.

Anger flashes on Derek's face, "I think it's time for you to leave."

"Fine, fine. But before I go, do you want to tell me what's off with her?" Peter says, actually seeming sincere in wanting to know.

Derek relaxes a little and answers, "We don't know."

"I sense something weird in her," Peter states seriously.

"What do you mean?" Derek asks. Peter's statement also causes Erica to look up with curiosity.

"There's something inside her. It's not right. Something I can't quite put my finger on."

Derek turns to study Erica, and she looks back at him, a hint of worry on her face.

"But I should be going. Nice seeing you again, Erica," Peter says smoothly, giving her one last smile before exiting the loft.

"What was that about?" Isaac asks, entering the room.

"I don't know," Derek answers.

"There seems to be a lot we don't know right now," Isaac utters.

"Tell me about it," Derek replies, drifting off for a moment. "Anyways, you need to start going to school again next week, you've missed enough."

"Why can't I just drop out? It's not like I need it," Isaac replies, flustered.

"But you do. Erica is doing better now. And I'm here. She'll be fine for a few hours of you not being here."

Isaac sighs, knowing he's right, "Whatever. I'm going to go get something to eat, does anyone want anything?"

The two shake their heads. Isaac grabs his jacket and heads for the door.

When he leaves, Derek starts making his way back to his room, when Erica stops him.

"Hey, wait for a second. I want to talk to you."

Derek looks at her for a moment, before making his way to sit on a chair by the couch Erica occupies. He doesn't say anything, so Erica speaks.

"Isaac won't talk about it, and I don't know who else to ask that will be straight up with me," she starts. "What happened to Boyd? Did the Alpha Pack kill him after me? I know Cora got out, but what about him?"

Derek sighs loudly and runs his hands over his pant legs.

"Boyd got out too. He, uh, was doing okay. But the alphas they… they made me kill him…" Derek trails off, unable to look Erica in the face.

Her hand shoots to her mouth, and she doesn't speak. Sorrow fills her body, and she holds back tears.

After a minute, she asks, "Did he, did he suffer?"

"He… I got to hold him, while he was dying. He asked about lunar eclipses. He said you always wanted to know what happened to us during them. He was thinking of you right before he…"

A few minutes pass, no words spoken.

"You don't remember any of it, do you? After you..." he asks.

"Died? No." More silence.

"I just wish I knew what was happening," she tells him.

"Me too."

_TEEN WOLF_

"Kate," Allison says as she tosses in her bed, "just… apologize. No, no, NO!"

The final word is a scream and as Allison sits bolt upright in her bed, she puts her hand over her chest and waits as her heartbeat returns to normal.

"Are you alright?" Camilla asks from the corner of the room where she sits neatly on the hide-a-bed.

Allison nods, "Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't mean to wake you. Just go back to sleep."

Camilla chuckles and holds up _The Turn of the Screw_, "I wasn't asleep. In fact, I don't really sleep all that much these days."

"What? Why not?"

"Ever since I found out about the werewolves and being a hunter and everything… I just… it feels like sometimes everything is planned out for me. So I like to spend my nights doing something I can control. So I read."

Allison smiles softly, "I'm sorry this is your life."

"I'm sorry it's your life too," Camilla replies, looking back down at the book, "dreaming about Aunt Kate?"

"Yeah," Allison admits, "I have been for a while now."

"Is it always nightmares?"

"Yes," the short haired girl whispers, "always. Do you mind if we stay up and talk? I can tell you about the Darach we were talking about in Chem."

Camilla puts down her book and repositions herself, "I'm all ears."

_TEEN WOLF_

The next morning, Erica wakes up feeling refreshed. Isaac lays next to her, still asleep. Not wanting to wake him, she slips out of the bed quietly and tiptoes out of the room they shared.

When she enters the living room, she sees Jackson and Derek sitting, engaged in a conversation. They both look up at her.

"Well, hello, gorgeous. Glad to hear you're alive again, even though I didn't know you were dead in the first place."

A pissed off look passes over Derek's face and Jackson notices.

"What, too soon?" He asks. "Sorry." His apology sounding far from sincere.

"I didn't know you were back in town," Erica says, obviously not pleased with it.

"And I didn't know you were hooking up with Isaac."

"We're not, we—" she starts, only to be interrupted by Derek.

"They're brother and sister. They find comfort in each other. Especially with her being gone for so long and Boyd… It helps them. Both of them," he says a little too sharply.

Jackson holds up her hands in defeat, "Damn sorry. But I have a real question for you Erica. Why do you look like you've been running through the woods all night?"

"What?" she asks. She moves over to the mirror hanging near her and looks. A few sticks and leaves are tangled in her hair and dirt covers parts of her body.

"It's because she was," Derek tells them. When Jackson's brow furrows, he enlightens him.

"The last two nights she's left the loft and went into the woods. And she doesn't remember how or why."

"And I thought I had problems…" Jackson says.

"I remember coming back the first time, why don't I now?"

"I don't know. It took me a long time to find you. I didn't bring Isaac, he needs rest for the full moon tonight. I thought you would snap out of it after a few minutes, but you didn't. I had to carry you a long ways and all the way back to the loft."

Erica's face shows a bit of sadness and confusion.

"Well that's hot," Jackson utters, filling the room with awkwardness. Derek averts his eyes and Erica pulls at the shirt she is wearing, suddenly self-conscious.

Suddenly, Isaac enters the space, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Jackson?" he asks, confused.

"In the flesh."

Isaac, not wanting to deal with anything shakes his head and drapes his arm around Erica's shoulders.

"Woah," he says, realizing the aftermath of her escape to the woods. "Did you get out again?"

"Yeah," she says quietly.

"Derek, did you take care of her alone? Why didn't you wake me?"

"It's fine, Isaac," he replies.

"What all do you remember?" Isaac asks Erica.

"None of it."

"Wait, so, Derek had to carry you the whole way?"

She nods once, and looks away.

"Oh. Well, wanna go get some breakfast?"

She nods again and says, "Let me get cleaned up first."

"Alright, I need to change too," Isaac agrees.

The two go back into their bedroom and shut the door.

Jackson's face blooms into a smile as he says, "Does that make you jealous?"

Derek rolls his eyes and gets up to leave.

"Wait! I want to know more about what happened when I was gone!"

_TEEN WOLF_


	3. Wild Thing (3x15)

"So, let me get this straight, an Alpha Pack rolls into town and then there's a dark druid and somehow freaking McCall winds up being a True Alpha… whatever that is, and your sister who you thought was dead really isn't dead and also Allison's crazy, killer grandfather is dead," Jackson asks, not really making what Derek had said any clearer.

"Pretty much, yeah," the dark haired man says as he stares at the younger wolf.

"And Lydia is some sort of supernatural – you think a banshee, but you aren't sure?"

Derek nods his head.

"You really miss a lot when you leave the country," Jackson sighs, "so basically me coming here to tell you that I'll be in town for the full moon tonight was totally pointless because you aren't even my alpha anymore."

"I'm so sorry I wasted your time Jackson," Derek says, lacking sincerity, "but since you don't owe my any allegiance maybe you should get the hell out of my loft."

Jackson chuckles, "No problem. See you around, _beta_."

The lacrosse player stands up from where he sat and walks over to the door, just as he's about to leave Derek asks, "Can you control yourself tonight? I know last summer I taught you…"

"Yeah," Jackson responds, "I'll be fine."

"It's just everything with Erica, ya know? I can't be worried another one of mine is going to go tearing the town apart."

"I get it," Jackson answers, "I owe you for this summer though, Derek. If there's anything you need, I'm your man."

Derek raises an eyebrow, "You're kidding me, right?"

The boy shakes his head, "No, this is me being totally honest. If you need me, call me."

_TEEN WOLF_

"Peter thanks for coming!" Scott's mother says to the handsome man.

"Oh it is my pleasure," he replies, bending down to kiss her hand. From behind his back, he pulls out blood red roses. "For you."

Melissa blushes and accepts them. She pushes them towards her face and smells them.

Scott rolls his eyes. He couldn't stop the fact that his mother felt something for Peter, but it didn't mean he had to like it.

Suddenly, an odd look crosses Melissa's face.

"These smell odd. They kind of smell like… like…"

"Blood?" Peter finishes for her. His eyes shine red as he leaps for Melissa.

"Mom!" Scott yells. He lunges for Peter but is stopped by a blow to the chest.

He flies back and crashes into the wall. Stunned his vision blurs. He tries to move, but he can't.

All the strength he has goes into getting his body to move but it won't.

"Luck of the Kanima," Peter says with a smile as he throws a knife dripping in venom aside.

"No!" Scott yells.

He watches as Peter holds his mother up by the throat, licking his lips.

In one quick swipe from his claws, he rips open Melissa's stomach.

"Mom!"

Blood pours from the woman as she screams. Peter swipes again and again and the screams pound in Scott's ears.

Tears pour from his eyes as he watches the life slip from the only person who had loved him his whole life.

Peter laughs as Melissa's body goes slack and her screams stop. Her eyes close and Peter throws her body down, finished with mauling her.

His eyes move to Scott, who lays motionless. He slowly makes his way to him and bends down to face him.

He lifts his claws and swipes down.

Before Scott can feel what happens, his eyes burst open. Even shirtless, Scott is hotter than imaginable. The windows blow in a cool morning breeze as his heart thumps against his chest.

Before he can start to calm down, his door slams open. On alert, Scott jumps up, ready to attack, claws extended.

Melissa jumps back, startled, "My God, Scott. Put those away. Your father's here. He wants to talk and I need to get to work."

Breathing heavily, Scott leaps from his bed and over to his mom to hug her.

"Geez, Scott. You're all sweaty, get off."

"Sorry. I just had a bad dream."

Melissa's face softens, "It's okay, honey. I gotta go, but get downstairs soon please. Your father being in my house makes me uncomfortable."

Melissa leaves for the day, and Scott makes his way downstairs to face his father.

"Scott, good, you're up. Listen I have to head out in about an hour, but before I leave I wanted to tell you that I'll be coming back. I was brought here for a reason, and I feel like I'm not done here."

"You don't—"

"I don't have time to chat, son. But I'll be back," he interrupts. He grabs his jacket from a chair and heads for the door. "See you later, Scott. Try and stay out of trouble."

When the door shuts, Scott blows out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

_TEEN WOLF_

The loud knock on the door snaps Allison out of her stupor and pulls her to the present. Checking her watch the dark haired girl sees that it's ten to two; Lydia was here to go to the library for their Philosophy study date.

Walking out of the kitchen – leaving a half eaten turkey sandwich on the table – Allison yells to her cousin in the shower, "I'm leaving!" just before opening the apartment door.

"All ready," Lydia asks, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder so that it hangs long down her back.

"Yeah," Allison smiles.

Its then that Lydia hears someone singing Lady is a Tramp, "Who is that?"

"Oh it's Camilla, she's big into jazz."

Stepping over the threshold into the foyer, Lydia listens further, "She's actually incredible."

Allison nods, "She won her school talent show in LA last year singing that song."

"So not only does she chop the occasional werewolf in half, but she also sings. And… what else do you do exactly?"

"Well, I can tell you I won't be passing that Philosophy test if we don't get to the library to study. Come on already," Allison urges, "it's only two buildings down. If you're that enthralled by Camilla you can ask her to sing for you some other time."

Lydia nods and follows Allison out of the apartment just when Camilla hits a high note. As Allison shuts the door behind her, the two girls walk toward the elevator in silence, until they get in and Allison asks the question she'd been dying to have answered.

"What's up with Jackson?" the taller girl questions.

Lydia rolls her eyes, "Like I'd even begin to know. I went over to his house last night and he barely said two words to me before asking me to leave – yeah, he asked me to leave. And okay it wasn't rude or anything, but still. I guess in retrospect he and I had grown apart over the summer and he did stop talking to me once he'd gone to England… but whatever. He's still an ass."

The elevator dings when it reaches the ground floor, and the two girls exit into the large main floor and the make their way out to the street, smiling brightly at the doorman before leaving.

"So he didn't say why he left London or anything?"

"All he told me is that he was kicked out," Lydia replies, buttoning the top button of her jean jacket, "which isn't all that shocking. I'm sure private schools have stricter rules on being a dick."

Allison laughs, "Jackson Whittemore was expelled. Someone ought to put that in a history book."

The two then proceed down the street until they reach a building with two marble lions sitting neatly out front. They then carry on walking and head into the Beacon Hills Public Library, where the quickly find the Philosophy section and grab the book they need to study. As Lydia quizzes Allison on Thomas Hobbes and Jeremy Bentham, she watches the numerous passers-by.

While peering around at everyone – seeing several boys from the Lacrosse team flipping through old issues of Sports Illustrated - her eyes scan over the new boy Nolan, as he pulls out a chair and sits down. In his hands he holds a yellow fronted book that Lydia recognizes as Perks of Being a Wallflower.

"The right of the individual," Allison says until she notices that Lydia isn't paying attention, "what's up?"

She bites her lips and says, "Jackson and that kid were pretty friendly the other day, didn't you think?"

"Lydia, don't. You're over him, remember?"

"Come on, Allison, maybe Jackson mentioned something about me. What will it hurt to ask?"

Before Allison can object further the red haired girl goes off to talk to the pale boy. From her spot at the round table, Allison watched as Lydia approaches him. The brunette rolls her eyes and turns back around, grabbing Lydia's notebook to study further.

Standing while he stays seated, Lydia smiles until Nolan looks up from his book, "Uh… hi?" he asks cautiously.

"It's Nolan, right?" the girl asks, pulling out a chair to sit.

He nods his head slowly and looks around, "Were you looking for me?"

"Of course, sweetie," she beams, "I get the feeling you and I might be great friends if one of us tries hard enough. So what do you say?"

"What's the catch?" he retorts, smiling back at her.

Lydia frowns suddenly and then continues, "The boy who sits next to you in chemistry, Jackson Whittemore, what do you know about him?"

Nolan sat the book down on the table and shrugged, "He's in three of my classes and that he went to London for a semester."

"Anything else?" Lydia asks hopefully.

"Well, he didn't say all that much to me when he came and ate lunch with me in the library," Nolan tells her, "but from what I gather something really big went down at the end of your guys' sophomore year and now he feels like he doesn't have anyone anymore."

"You can't each lunch in the library, Ms. Greer would lose it," Lydia says, thinking the blue eyed boy must be making something up.

"Jenny actually went to college with my mom, so you may not be able to, but I can. He also mentioned that you guys were together for two years and then everything went south and you ended things. He spent a lot of time in London trying to get over you," the boy adds, hoping this information will satisfy Lydia.

"Did he?" she says, the corners of her mouth turning up devilishly.

"He certainly did," Nolan nods, "now, uh, can I get back to my book?"

Lydia raises an eyebrow, "Is there any particular reason you have such a habit of being unsocial? I noticed it when we met and yesterday when you were with Jackson. You don't seem all that eager to be a part of any group."

"Maybe that's because I've been here for about two weeks and until Jackson sat next to me you didn't have any idea I was even in your chemistry class."

"Oh.. I'm sorry," Lydia says sincerely, "I hadn't realized -"

Nolan shakes his head, "It's okay, really. I can tell you've got a lot going on – you and all your friends seem to."

"You've got no idea," the girl replies, tugging at the hem of her purple skirt, "I really am sorry about the whole -"

"It's really okay. You can get back to Allison," he smiled, "I'll see you around."

As Lydia gets up and begins to walk, gaining a curious look from Allison, she quickly turns around and says, "Be careful tonight," before carrying on back to her friend.

_TEEN WOLF_

"Okay hopefully these will hold," Stiles says, tugging on one of the chains binding Scott. He moves across the room and tugs on one holding Isaac too.

Isaac and Scott look at each other and hope for the best. With the full moon coming tonight, they both needed to be locked up, not being able to control themselves.

"Well, I'll be downstairs. Try not to kill me or anyone else," Stiles tells the two, rubbing his hands together.

He leaves the room and shuts the door.

Soon enough, the moon is upon the boys. They brace themselves for the change.

Minutes pass and nothing happens. The boys sit in silence, unsure of why.

The time ticks by and nothing happens.

"We're sure it's the full moon, right?" Isaac asks.

"Yeah," Scott answers.

They let more time pass and still nothing changes.

"What time is it?" Isaac asks. Scott looks over at the clock on his bedside table.

"9:14."

"And the moon came out at what, like 7:30?"

"Something like that," Scott replies.

"Do you think we can just control it now?" Isaac asks, his mind whirring.

Scott's eyes open wider, "Maybe we can. Maybe me being Alpha helped. And maybe you just got better. Maybe we don't need to be locked up anymore."

The two think about it for a minute, and wait a little longer just to be sure.

"Well I feel fine," Isaac says.

"Stiles!" Scott yells. "Stiiiiiiiiiles!"

The two suddenly hear heavy footsteps clobbering up the stairs and a big crash, followed by the door flying open.

"What? What?" Stiles yells, out of breath.

"We're not changing! We're fine!" Scott says, excited.

Stiles leans over and puts his hand on his chest, taking deep breaths.

"Wait, what?" he questions in between breaths.

"It's been almost two hours, and we haven't felt any need to kill anyone."

Stiles doesn't say anything, confused.

"So you can let us go!" Scott exclaims.

"I dunno… I don't want to be responsible if you go all wolfy right after I do," he says.

"Stiles, c'mon! We're totally fine!" Isaac tells him.

The boy stands and considers it. After a minute he takes a deep breath and moves to unchain the werewolves.

"I swear, if you guys kill me or anyone else, I'll be so pissed," he tells them.

When they both get free they smile at each other, happy that they can control themselves.

"You guys wanna play Mortal Kombat?" Stiles asks after a little bit.

"Let's go," Isaac says, standing up.

About an hour into playing, Scott and Isaac feel a warm rush go through their bodies.

Scott drops his controller and Isaac just stops playing.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Stiles says to Scott. "Dude what are YOU doing?" Stiles says to Isaac.

He pauses the game and looks at them.

"Oh, no. No no no. Stop it guys. Stop it right now!" Stiles says, standing up and backing away.

All of a sudden they go back to normal.

"What are you doing, Stiles?" Scott asks.

"What do you—? What? You guys just… What?"

"I need to see Allison…" Scott says randomly.

"Yeah," Isaac agrees. "That sounds like a good idea. Allison."

"What is even going on?" Stile exclaims.

"Take us to see Allison," Scott says, a kind of glaze covering his eyes.

The two boys head for the door and make their way to Stiles' jeep.

"Guys, seriously! What is this?"

When they don't respond, Stiles just grabs his jacket and keys and storms out after them.

When they pull up to the parking lot a bit later, Scott and Isaac don't wait for Stiles, they just get out.

"Do you guys want me to come? No? Yes?"

Neither one acknowledges him, so he adds, "Ok, I'll just stay here!"

He runs his hands through his hair and sighs, "Freaking werewolves."

Inside, Scott and Isaac aimlessly make their way to Allison's apartment.

When they arrive they both knock.

"I got it!" yells Allison, and with the boys' keen hearing, they hear her and perk up.

When the brunette answers the door, confusion flutters along her face.

She steps into the hallway and shuts the door.

"What are you guys doing here? Isn't it the full moon? I thought Stiles was locking you guys up!" she whisper-yells.

"Yeah, but we didn't change!" Scott answers, his eyes locked on Allison.

"Well then what are you guys doing here?" She looks at both of them and adds, "And why are you staring at me like that?"

Before anyone can say anything else, the door opens and out steps Camilla.

"Woah. Hey Scott. And….?"

Isaac looks over at the other brunette and his eyes go wide. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Camilla looks at him expectantly, but he doesn't answer.

"That's Isaac," Allison says. "I told you about him."

"I'm Isaac," he finally says, confirming what Allison told her cousin.

Camilla nods, "I can see that."

Isaac smiles, and his eyes don't leave the pretty girl.

She looks at him oddly and then turns to Allison, "I'm going out, I'll be home late."

"Alright, see ya," Allison says with a smile.

"I'll walk you to your car!" Isaac tells the girl before she heads down the hallway.

"Um, okay," she says, shooting Allison a confused look. Allison shrugs back.

When the two are out of the hallway, Allison turns her attention back to Scott.

"So what are you guys doing here, what happened?"

Scott doesn't answer, instead he leans in and plants a kiss on Allison's lips. For a second she is too shocked to respond.

When she can finally register the kiss she pushes him away.

"Scott, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. You're just so beautiful and I just… Can't control myself."

Allison breathes heavily and when Scott goes to kiss her again, she doesn't stop him.

For a few moments, the kiss is nice and passionate, but soon, it turns into a fierce, hungry one. With their tongues swirling, Scott pushes Allison against the wall and kisses her harder.

They continue this for a few minutes, taking a couple breaks to breathe. Scott wraps his arms around Allison and rests them on her back. They start kissing again.

"Scott!" Allison yelps as she feels his claws start to extend.

He pulls back, and has to use every ounce of self-control to stop.

"Allison, I—"

She interrupts him with her laughter, and he soon joins in too. His claws retract and he leans in for one last peck. But the hunger returns in his eyes.

Down in the parking lot, Isaac walks beside Camilla, examining her as they walk.

"So what's your story, wolf-boy?" Camilla asks, smiling as she looks at him.

"I, well, I, um…" Isaac says, not being able to find any words.

Camilla laughs, and Isaac smiles, her voice sounding beautiful to his ears.

"You're beautiful," Isaac blurts out. His eyes go wide, but Camilla just laughs.

"Thanks," she replies.

They come up next to a red '72 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

"Well, this is me," Camilla says.

Before another word is spoken, they hear a car door slamming and see Stiles coming towards them.

"Oh hey, Camilla. Weird seeing you here," he stammers.

"Well, I live here, so not that weird," she tells him.

"Your, your car is great. I mean classic, gorgeous. It's just… great," he says, stumbling over his words.

"Thank you," she says sincerely. "I try and take good care of her."

"She looks good," Isaac says in a husky voice, his eyes glued to Camilla rather than the car.

She blushes and pushes a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I've got somewhere to be, so I'm going to head out," she tells the two.

The boys watch as she climbs into the car. She starts it up and waves as she drives away.

Both of the boys sigh.

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek and Erica sit on opposite sides of a booth at a diner.

In front of them are half-eaten burgers and fries. Derek leans back in the booth, full.

Erica sits and picks the split-ends in her hair.

All of a sudden she stands up and asks, "Can I have a quarter?"

A look of wonder crosses Derek's face, but he obliges, pulling one out of his pocket and placing it in her hand.

She struts over to the old-fashioned jukebox and puts the quarter inside. Derek keeps his eyes on her as she flips through the songs.

He has to admit, even though she set him back a few hundred dollars, he was happy she bought some of her own clothing after she went for breakfast with Isaac. Not only did the clothes fit her better, but they showed off just how gorgeous she was.

Not that Derek was interested, he tells himself, shaking his head. But still, he can't peel his eyes away from her.

She eventually choses a song, "Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon, and heads back to the booth.

"You like REO?" Derek asks, amused.

"Who doesn't?" she replies, a smile on her lips.

Derek laughs, and then asks her seriously, "You're feeling okay, though right? You don't feel like you want to kill anyone?"

"Not at the moment," she tells him. He nods.

"…I don't believe it, not for a minute. You're under the gun, so you take it on the run…" Erica sings along.

Abruptly, a rush of heat goes through Derek's body, making him space out. When he returns to the real world, Erica is looking at him oddly.

"You okay?" she asks.

Derek doesn't answer, because his eyes are devouring the girl in front of him.

She eyes him, wondering what was happening.

"Derek?"

Derek takes a deep breath and musters all the self-control he can and says, "I'll be right back."

"Alright," Erica says to him.

He gets up and goes into the men's room.

Inside, he heads to the sink. He grips the edges hard, nearly breaking it.

He breathes heavily as he tries to control his body's urges. He turns on the water and splashes water on his face.

When he finishes, he tries to stop thinking about Erica, but his mind runs wild.

He decides to go back out, his wants taking control of him. But when he leaves the restroom, the booth where Erica once sat is empty.

"Ma'am, did you see where the blonde went?" he asks the woman serving a table near him.

"Sorry, hon, I didn't," she replies as she pours coffee in another customer's mug.

Derek clenches his fist and walks over to his booth and sits to think for a minute.

_TEEN WOLF_

Jackson knocks hard on the oak front door of the Mahealani house. His heart is racing as he waits for someone to answer the door.

As his palms sweat nervously, the door swings open and on the other side stands Danny's mother, "Why Jackson! When did you get back from London?" she asks with a smile.

"Just a few days okay, Mrs. M. Say is, uh, Danny around?"

The woman nods her head and allows Jackson entrance into her home, telling the dark blonde that her son is in his room. Jackson nods and smiles before heading up the familiar stairs and down the familiar hallway until he comes to Danny's bedroom – the door still had the sticker that says 'PARENTS NOT WELCOME' that they'd hung there when they'd been twelve.

Jackson again pounds on the door, his heart racing even more, until Danny pulls it open glistening with sweat. It's then Jackson hears Danny's workout playlist playing and realizes he'd interrupted his friend's workout.

"It's about time you came to see me," Danny said with a crooked smile, "I still am your best friend, right?"

Jackson chuckles and follows Danny into the bedroom, shutting the door behind himself, "Yeah, you're still my best friend."

Danny sits down on his bed and watches as Jackson paces the bedroom floor, "So, look, the thing is – is well, I'm back because I got kicked out of Bruce Castle School because… I did something really bad. I did it several times and I hadn't ever done something like it before, but then I did and it was great."

"You didn't like, sacrifice something did you? Because there's been plenty of that in Beacon Hills and I don't need to hear about it from you."

Again, Jackson chuckles, and goes to sit beside his childhood friend, "It was something more… carnal."

Danny raises an eyebrow, "Did you like sleep with one of the female teachers or something?"

Jackson puts his hand on Danny's knee, "You've always thought I was good looking, right Danny?"

"I've told you before, you're not my type."

"And I told you, I'm everyone's type. Just answer the question, Danny… do you think I'm good looking?"

Slowly, Jackson's hand moves up Danny's leg, fast approaching the dark haired boy's crotch.

"What are you getting at here, Jackson? What did you do?"

Jackson sighs, "I'm really gonna have to spell this out for you, aren't I?"

It's then Jackson reaches Danny's crotch and gently begins to massage it, "I got kicked out for sleeping with someone," the blue-green eyed boy leans in and whispers, "let's just say I was really hands on with my roommate and some of his friends."

Danny quickly bolts up from where he sat on the bed, "Look, Jackson, if you're gay or bi or whatever that's great, and I'm glad that you're able to be honest with yourself, but I've got a boyfriend and this is just… really weird."

Jackson looks down at his hand suddenly and sees it slowly de-claw, "I… I'm sorry. I don't know what that was."

"It's fine," Danny says, letting out a breath of relief, "it's really okay. But, dude, if you need someone to talk to about what you're feeling… you can come to me you know."

Jackson nods his head and begins to walk out of his friend's bedroom, "Thanks, Danny…"

Stepping out into the hallway, Jackson is overcome with confusion. Why had he just gone and confessed everything to Danny? Why was he painfully horny? And why had his sexual urges brought him to Danny and not one of the numerous girls he'd been interested before? What was going on with him?

Walking out of the house and into the night, Jackson stares up at the moon and wonders why he couldn't just change like any regular full moon.

_TEEN WOLF_

Peter quickly turns the corner and pauses when he reaches the Nurses Station. The sexual hunger he feels in his core is too much and if he doesn't find her soon he thinks he'll explode.

Grabbing the attention of a nurse – one with the name Olivia – he asks very quickly, "Is Melissa McCall around?"

The red haired nurse shakes her head, "No, she got off about three minutes ago. You might be able to catch her in the parking lot if you hurry."

Saying thanks as he takes off down the hall, Peter feels his sexual appetite grow. He doesn't just want to find Melissa anymore, he needs to find her. He skids around a man being pushed down the hall in a wheelchair and just as he gets out to the parking lot he sees the familiar McCall family car pulling out its parking spot and speeding away.

Looking up at the moon he screams, "DAMMIT!" before dropping to all fours and chasing after the car, following it down the nearly empty street until it reaches a stoplight. He then sees his chance and rushes over to the driver's window.

Tapping on the glass gently, Melissa jumps as she sees the once-alpha, "What do you want?" she asks without rolling down the car window – knowing he can hear her anyway.

He smiles and says, "I owe you Olive Garden."

She shakes her head no.

"How about we skip dinner then and head right to the sack?" it's now that his eyes glow blue and Melissa hits the gas and goes speeding down the road.

Scott's mother doesn't even bother to look back as she speeds down the road. Worrying though that he may be following her she goes just a bit faster.

Turning around and staring up at the big, full moon, Peter walks away. Feeling his canines ache all the while.

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek sits at the booth, clenching his jaw. He hears the bell on the door clink and he turns, hoping it is Erica returning.

Instead, a pretty brunette walks in, walks up to the counter, and sits on a stool.

All thoughts of Erica are pushed aside as he eyeballs the girl.

He watches her as she orders a glass of water.

He decides to make a move and throws his money on the table to pay for his and Erica's food.

Oh right, Erica. Derek needs to find Erica. He begins to leave, but he hears the laugh of the girl at the counter and his eyes are drawn back to her.

For a flash, she turns around and their eyes meet. Her eyes are a gorgeous hazel, and Derek smiles at her. She smiles back but turns away right after.

Derek sidles up to the counter and plops down a few stools over.

"What are you doing alone on a Saturday night?" he asks the girl, causing her to look over at him.

She laughs, "Just coming in for a glass of water."

Derek smiles at her, "I can see that."

She smiles back, "And what are you doing along on a Saturday night?"

"Well right now I'm looking at one of the prettiest girls I've seen around here," he says to her, getting another laugh.

"Well you're about to see her walk away, because she has somewhere to be in ten minutes."

"Well I can always walk her out," he says, a flirtatious glint in his eyes.

"I think she'd like that," she says.

She stands up and places a dollar on the counter. Derek walks to the door and holds it open for her.

She exits the diner and Derek follows, keeping in pace right beside her.

"So where am I walking you to?" he asks.

"I parked down the street," she answers.

Out of nowhere, a man walking on the sidewalk with them accidently runs into the girl hard causing her to almost fall.

Derek uses his fast reflexes to catch her and they stay close, looking in each other's eyes. He pulls her upright and she smiles.

Hunger takes over and he leans in to kiss her. For a moment she allows it, she even kisses him back. But after a few seconds she pulls away.

"I really have to go," she says, breaking away from him and walking towards her car.

Derek sighs but follows her, wanting more.

When she gets to her car, she unlocks the door and stops.

"Goodnight," she says to Derek.

He leans in and kisses her again but this one is even shorter.

"You know, I really shouldn't be kissing werewolves, my father would have a fit," she says.

The smile leaves Derek's face.

"How did-?"

"I'm Camilla. Camilla Argent. Allison's cousin. And you're Derek Hale."

"I should've known…" he trails off.

"Eh, I won't tell anyone. See ya later, Derek," she says before getting in her red car and driving away.

Even though she was a hunter, Derek still found himself not regretting the kiss.

"Shit, Erica," he says, suddenly remembering the girl he lost.

He pulls out his phone and dials Isaac to leave a message, knowing the boy is locked up with Scott.

To Derek's surprise, the curly-haired boy answers.

"Hey Derek, what's going on?"

"Shouldn't you be chained up somewhere?" Derek questions.

"We were. But something happened. I don't know. We didn't feel the need to change," he says.

Derek doesn't say anything, thinking.

"Did you… I don't know, feel kind of weird tonight? Like instead of wanting to kill people, you wanted to—"

"Stop," Derek says, knowing what he was about to say. "It doesn't matter, that's not why I called. Erica's gone."

"Shit. Do you think she went off looking for someone? Because of…"

Derek considers it for a moment, a bit confused as to why she wouldn't just stay with him, but he brushes it aside.

"I don't know, we just need to go look for her. Call Jackson and see if she's with him. If she's not, tell him to meet us at the woods. Are you still with Scott?"

"Yeah, I'll bring him," Isaac says.

"Good," Derek replies before hanging up.

He breathes out loudly, and thinks hard. What the hell happened tonight?

He begins to walk to his car, and right after he gets in, his phone buzzes with a text.

_She's not with Jackson. We're on our way._

Derek slams his hand against the steering wheel, frustrated that she was gone again.

_TEEN WOLF_

"Stay together, let me know if you find anything," Derek tells Scott, Isaac, Jackson, and Stiles, who decided to come along.

"Yeah and try to control yourselves when you find her," Stiles adds. "Considering what I saw tonight, you guys are a little…"

He doesn't finish he sentence when he notices four glares upon him.

"Sorry, I'll just shut up," he says, raising his hands in surrender.

The guys start their search, following a faint scent of Erica.

"She was here tonight, I don't know how long ago, though," Derek tells everyone.

They walk for some time, and as the minutes tick, her scent gets a bit stronger.

A bit more time passes and they find themselves upon the Hale house.

"You don't think she…?" Scott asks.

"Won't hurt to look," Derek replies, walking up the steps of the house.

Slowly, they all make their way inside the dark house.

"Erica?" Isaac calls out.

When they enter what used to be the living room, they see Erica.

She doesn't look up at any of them instead, her gaze is empty. She stands still near a corner.

Isaac begins to take a step towards her, but he is stopped by Derek.

"There's someone else here," he growls.

The guys settle their eyes on the back of someone's head, sitting in a chair in the shadows.

"Show yourself," Derek commands.

The person stands up, identifying that they are male.

The mysterious man turns around, and elicits a gasp from some of the guys.

"Mr. Harris?" Scott says.

The man before them smiles, "Wrong. But good try."

"Then who are you?" Scott asks.

The man walks forward and comes around the chair, so he is in full view.

"Malum radix, cum malignitate radices… I have many names. You guys can call me Malum," he tells them, flashing his teeth.

When nobody says anything, he adds, "No Latin speakers, I'm guessing? I'm The Root."

"The Root of what?" Stiles asks.

"Evil," he replies.

"Why are you here?" Derek commands.

"To have some fun, of course!"

"Why do you have Erica? What did you do to her?" Isaac roars.

"Well, I'm the one responsible for bringing her back, so you shouldn't be yelling. You should be thanking me," he replies smoothly. "I liked her. I've been watching for a while, and after all that Alpha and Darach fun, I decided to shake things up and bring her back. But she's kind of my slave."

"How long have you been here?" Scott asks.

"Here? Not that long, a few weeks. But I was in The Other World for quite some time. I was trapped actually. All I could do was watch. But then three teenagers decided to come in, and so I latched on. And now here I am!"

Derek growls, causing a chuckle from The Root.

"Calm down, big guy," he says. Suddenly remembering something, he asks, "Oh! I forgot! How did you guys like the change tonight? I thought I would make the full moon a little bit nicer."

"You mean you –" Jackson starts, only to be interrupted by Malum.

"Made you horndogs?" he asks, pausing to laugh for a while before speaking again. "Oh, that was good. Dogs… because you're wolves…"

When nobody responds he adds, "Okay, tough crowd."

"What do you want?" Derek says angrily.

"Oh, I don't know yet. We'll see."

Malum turns his head and looks curiously at something behind them, but none of them seem to notice.

"Hmmm, well I've got to run. You can have her back. For now," he tells them.

He smiles one last time and snaps his fingers.

In an instant, all of the werewolves shift, with the exception of Erica.

It takes them a minute to get back to their human states, but when they do, they are livid.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson yells.

"What's going on?" Erica's voice says, snapping everyone's attention to her.

Isaac hurries over to her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why are we in the Hale house?"

Everyone looks around on each other, not knowing how to answer her.

"Well, long story short," Stiles says after a minute, "we have company."

_TEEN WOLF_


	4. An Eye For An Eye (3x16)

Listening to Mr. Panzarella go on about the Civil War begins to bore Allison, and most of the other third period American History students. He talks more about General Lee and General Grant, when suddenly the dark haired Allison hears a loud scratching sound.

Confused the girl looks around, turning around to see her ex-boyfriend, "Did you hear that?" she whispers to Scott.

"Mr. P's lisp? Yeah I've heard it just about all year," the dark haired boy replies as he leans forward on the desk, supporting his face with his right hand.

"No… that like scratching noise. You don't hear that?"

"I don't hear anything," Scott replies, turning his focus back on to the teacher.

"_Allison…"_ she hears whispered. Looking around the room she searches for the source, "_I always loved those dopey brown eyes", _she hears now.

The dark haired girl looks around again, more tensely now.

Her hands shoots up, "Mr. Panzarella, may I use the restroom?"

Before the balding man can reply, Allison runs out of the room and down the hall. Her heart pounds in her ears as her heels click down the wide hallway. She turns a sharp left corner as the scratching sound gets louder and louder, and before she knows it she stands face to face with her deceased Aunt Kate.

The blonde woman smiles and takes a step forward, forcing Allison to take a bigger step back.

"Remember the good ol' days?" Kate asks with a smile, pulling a hunting knife from her pocket. "When you would come stay at my house for the weekend and we'd eat cookie dough at one in the morning and talk about everything?"

Allison nods her head and watches as her aunt's face begins to turn gray.

"And now, you're out and about screwing the freaking enemy. You're making nice with the sick goddamn monsters that did this to me," the woman yells, taking the knife and slashing her own throat. Blood spurts from the source and sprays over Allison.

The younger girl trips and lands hard on the floor, "This isn't real!" she cries, feeling the sting of tears.

Kate bends down and gets right next to her niece's ear, "Oh, trust me Ali," she sighs, the smell of her breath like hot, sweet garbage, "it's real."

It's then Allison feels the hunting knife slam into her chest, and her eyes shut with the pain. She lets out a shriek as Kate yanks the knife upwards and says, "Be a good girl and keep it down. You'll wake the neighbors."

A warm hand is placed on Allison's shoulder and begins shaking her, "What are you doing?" Scott asks worriedly.

"Kate no," she shouts, opening her eyes to see Scott kneeling before her. "Wh-what? What? Where's Kate?"

"Allison, what are you talking about?"

The boy slowly helps her up off the floor and into a stable, standing position, "She was here, Scott. My Aunt Kate was here and she was trying to k-kill me."

Tears slowly begin to slide down her face, as the young hunter crumbles forward in fear. Scott is quick to wrap her in a hug and console her, shushing her and repeating over and over, "You're okay. I won't let anyone hurt you. You're safe, I promise…"

As Scott does so, he wonders how blood got in Allison's hair.

_TEEN WOLF_

Eagerly talking about supply and demand, Coach Finstock's comments fall on deaf ears. Nearly every student in the seventh period economics class has tuned out, it's simply another boring Tuesday afternoon to the kids in the room.

Sitting in the back, Jackson watches intently as Nolan scribbles furiously into his notebook. Catching glances of the product here and there, the lacrosse player can tell the other boy is drawing some sort of animal. Nolan pulls his hand away just long enough for Jackson to fully tell what it is the blue-eyed boy has drawn – it's a wolf.

"What's with that?" Jackson asks, grabbing Nolan's attention.

The boy looks over at him, "It's a doodle," he says nervously, "just a silly little doodle."

"Kind of looks like a werewo-"

Nolan quickly slams the purple notebook shut, "It's just some stupid doodle. Honest. Not a werewolf at all, just a drawing… in fact it wasn't even a wolf. It was supposed to be my dog; clearly my artistry skills aren't as great as I thought."

"Hayes," Finstock shouts making his way to the back of the room to stand in front of the two boys, "what is trade-off?" the man waits eagerly for Nolan to respond, almost hoping he gets the answer wrong.

"It's the opportunity cost or best alternative," the boy says, not breaking eye contact with Jackson.

The coach laughs, "It amazes me that the only time a student knows the answer to a question he's from out of state. What is with you freaking jack offs?"

Everyone in the room shifts uncomfortably in their seats.

"It was a lot better than you think," Jackson whispers as Finstock goes up to write an example on the chalk board, "and that symbol you drew the other day in Chem was pretty impressive too."

Nolan smiles at him weakly, "They're just doodles."

Two rows away from the boys, Camilla and Isaac sit, quietly talking with each other.

"I didn't mean to!" Camilla whispers a bit loudly, laughing.

"You didn't mean to make out with Derek? C'mon!" Isaac replies, smiling at her.

"Really! He kissed me! I got carried away!" she assures him. "I'm surprised you're not upset about it."

Isaac shrugs, "Nah. Derek was under that lust thing, and I know how forceful he can get."

Before Camilla can continue their conversation, Mr. Finstock's voice booms at Isaac.

"Lahey! Stop flirting and start paying attention. Oh, and while I'm talking to you, do you mind answering me why you haven't been to any of the lacrosse practices?"

Isaac looks at him and calmly answers, "I decided to quit."

"To quit?" the teacher yells. "To quit? You're one of our best guys!"

"My heart just isn't in it anymore, and I have better things to be doing when I'm not in school," he tells him, looking over and smiling at Camilla, making her blush.

The man sighs loudly and turns back to the board, muttering under his breath, "Damn teenagers and their hormones."

_TEEN WOLF_

"I'm just wondering why he chose me of all people," Erica says to Derek later that day. The two had been talking about The Root for a while.

"Well, he said he had been watching us for a while, and he wanted to affect us I guess. And bringing you back did just that…" he trails off.

"Are you glad he did?" Erica asks. "I mean, I just feel like me being here as his servant and not being able to control myself at times isn't good."

Derek exhales, thinking about how to answer her question.

"I'm happy you're back," he says after a minute. "Our pack lost a lot with you and Boyd being gone. We just need to find a way to bring all of you back, and not have that Malum guy being in control of any part of you."

"I don't think it will be easy," she says quietly.

"Nothing ever is," he tells her.

Suddenly, the door opens and in walks Jackson, unannounced.

"You really need to learn how to knock," Derek tells the boy.

"Hey, we're all brothers and sisters here. Even though some of us are clearly more than that," Jackson shoots back at him.

"What do you want, Jackson?" Derek angrily asks.

"Well, there's this new kid," he says, taking a seat by Erica on the couch, "and something's off with him. One day he's drawing some weird symbol and then today I see him drawing werewolves."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Look, I've got The Root of Evil on my hands, I don't have time to listen to your crap about some nerd who likes to draw."

"But he—"

"Jackson, I'm serious."

"Maybe he's just Team Jacob," Erica says with a snarky smile on her face.

Jackson stands up, annoyed.

"Whatever," he says, making his way to leave.

_TEEN WOLF_

Allison is sitting on her couch, pretending to read her American History book when she hears a knock at the door.

Her father is in the kitchen, which is closer to the door, so he answers.

She goes back to her book, but can barely start reading about The Battle of Gettysburg before her dad calls out to her.

"Allison, your friend Isaac is here to see you!"

A puzzled look crosses her face but she stands up and makes her way over to the door.

"Uh, hey Allison," he says. "Um, actually I'm here for Camilla."

"Oh," she says, another puzzled look going over her face.

"Camilla!" she yells.

Both Allison and her dad stand by the door as they wait for Camilla. Out in the hallway, Isaac rocks back and forth on his heels awkwardly.

When the brunette finally emerges, she smiles at the boy.

She sidles up to the door, and looks at Chris and Allison expectantly.

"Oh, right," Chris says at the same time Allison says, "Sorry."

The father and daughter both go back to their original spots, but strain their ears to listen.

"Hey, Isaac," Camilla greets. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to talk to you again. I didn't have your number, otherwise I would've called first…"

"I see. Well I was just about to head out so maybe some other time?"

"Well if you want some company I would be happy to oblige," Isaac offers.

Camilla thinks for a moment and says, "Okay. Let me go grab my things."

She shuts the door and returns after a minute, "Let's go! You gonna drive?"

"Sure," he replies, following her down the hall.

The two make it to Isaac's car and buckle in.

"Where to, malady?" he asks.

Camilla laughs, "Are you sure you're not still under that lust spell?"

"If I was, I don't think I could keep my hands off of you," Isaac replies.

Camilla blushes and looks down at her hands.

"Sorry," Isaac says. "Sometimes I don't think before I say things."

"It's okay," Camilla says. "Sometimes I like a guy who tells me just what he's thinking."

Isaac smiles at her.

"Well, let's go!" Camilla says, breaking the silence. "Take a left from the parking lot and go to the stoplight. I'll direct you from there."

The two drive for a little over five minutes, listening to a Red Hot Chili Peppers album along the way.

Isaac glances over at Camilla, who sings along to the song Slow Cheetah.

"You're a really good singer," he tells her with a glint of admiration in his eyes.

"Oh you just wait and see," she says with a smile.

A few minutes later, Camilla directs him to pull into a parking lot.

They exit the car and head into a dimly lit building. Isaac has no idea what the place is. He can hear music coming from the inside, and when Camilla opens the door, it gets louder.

"What is this place?" he asks her.

"It's a jazz bar," Camilla tells him over the music. The two make their way through the small, crowded space and find a small table to sit at.

"You come here a lot?" Isaac asks when Camilla waves at a few of the workers.

"Yeah, I do. Ever since I got here I have been."

"You come to listen or sing or what?" he asks, amused and entranced.

"You're about to find out," she says with a seductive smile.

She waves over a waitress and orders herself a water and Isaac orders a Coke.

"This place seems pretty cool," he tells her honestly.

He is intrigued by the people and the music. On stage, an older man plays his saxophone and the sound is amazing.

When the song ends, the whole bar claps and the man exits the stage.

Before Isaac can talk to Camilla, a woman appears on stage and begins speaking into a microphone.

"Alright, that was Brad and his sax! Up next is an amazing lady who joined us recently. We're so lucky to have found her. Everyone give it up for Miss Camilla Argent!"

The crowd cheers and Camilla gives Isaac one last smile before sauntering up to the stage.

Isaac sits, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

The first notes to My Funny Valentine play and Isaac watches as Camilla brings the microphone to her mouth.

When Camilla starts, Isaac's stomach does a flip. Her voice is amazing. Sultry and sexy.

She gets into the song, and Isaac's eyes are glued to her. She moves fluidly with the music.

She hasn't looked at Isaac, but when she finally does, she sings right to him, their eyes locked.

Isaac couldn't look away if he tried.

Camilla winks at Isaac, which earns a whistle from the crowd. She looks away and engages with the rest of the audience who are just as amazed as Isaac.

When the song ends, everyone cheers and stands up. She smiles and bows and exits the stage, returning to the table.

She takes a long sip of her water as Isaac exclaims, "Wow. That was so amazing. I can't…."

Camilla laughs and smiles at him, "So you liked it?"

"I loved it."

"You know, I did this back at home too, and I never told anyone. You're the first person who knows."

"Well you should definitely tell more people. What you can do is amazing."

Camilla blushes again, "I usually don't get like this. Usually I make other people blush."

The two lock eyes again, just like during the song. Attraction flows through the two.

"You really are wonderful. That was probably the sexiest thing I've seen in my life," Isaac says, not moving his eyes from hers.

"And you're probably the only guy I've ever wanted to sing for," she adds with a smile.

With no warning, Isaac leans in and kisses Camilla for the first time. Passion shoots through them, but they stop it after a few seconds, not wanting to get out of control.

"That was almost as great as your singing," Isaac tells the girl, resting his forehead on hers.

She laughs and grabs his hand on the table, "Let's dance." She pulls him up and over to a small dance floor where three other couples were already dancing to the song played by a woman on stage.

_TEEN WOLF_

Stiles moans after shoving a spoonful of mac-n-cheese into his mouth.

"So good," he says with his mouth full.

His father looks over at him and shakes his head.

"You've had this so many times, you'd think it would have lost its deliciousness by now."

"Mm mmm," he says, shaking his head. "No way."

He piles in another spoonful and grabs a roll from the plate in the middle of the table.

The two eat for a few minutes in silence until Stiles' father breaks it.

"It's your fault you know."

"What?" Stiles says, swallowing his latest bite of food.

"Your mother dying. It's all your fault." His father chews hard, his eyes stone cold.

"Dad, what—"

"You heard me. Her death was your damn fault."

Stiles gulps and looks confused.

"But, I—"

His father stands up suddenly and screams, "No! It was all you!"

The sheriff grabs the dinner table and in one quick motion he flips it over.

Anger radiates from him and Stiles sits, frozen.

"Dad, calm down!"

The man rushes forward and grabs Stiles by his shirt.

"You ungrateful little bastard! You took away the one thing I loved! Now I'm stuck on this damned earth with the most disgusting person I've ever met! And he's my own son!"

He lets go of the shirt and pushes Stiles, making his chair tip backwards and fall.

Stiles tries to get up, but his father comes closer. He bends down and picks up a knife that was used to cut the steak they had been eating.

Stiles tries to scramble away, but his father crushes his foot down on his leg, causing the boy to scream out in pain.

He stops moving and watches as his father bends down to his level.

He raises the knife up and is about to plunge the knife in when the phone rings.

Stiles is shaken from his hallucination and looks around. He is still in his chair, and the table is still upright. His father sits at the other end, chewing his food and reading the newspaper.

"Are you going to answer that?" His father asks, pausing his reading to look up at his son.

"Y-yeah," he answers. He fumbles to get his phone out of his pocket, still scared.

"What's up, Scott?" he says after reading the caller-id.

"It's Lydia," the boy on the other line says. "She found another body."

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott, Allison, and Stiles all pull up to the playground's parking lot in Stiles' jeep. Sitting distractedly on the curb is Lydia, her knees are pulled tight to her chest and she looks even more pale than usual.

"I'm going to text Camilla," Allison says from the back. The two boys upfront nod, understanding why Allison wants to get her cousin's toes wet in their supernatural lives.

Once Stiles is parked the three teens get out of the car and hurry over to Lydia who gets up when she sees them. Her side braid is beginning to fall out and she looks like she's been crying.

"It's… it's just a little girl," Lydia says, as a tear slides down her cheek, "I was headed to the mall and then I found myself here and then I found her. She was just lying there on the slide like a broken bird and…"

Stiles pulls her into a hug and holds her tightly, "Call my dad," he says as Lydia clings to him.

"Well, Camilla isn't here yet," Allison begins.

"Who cares? That little kid is still going to be dead when she gets here. Call my dad now, Scott," Stiles says as he rubs his hand over Lydia's small back.

_TEEN WOLF_

Back at the jazz bar, Camilla and Isaac are laughing as they make their way back to the table hand in hand.

"I'm glad you came with me," she says.

"Me too," Isaac agrees.

"I never thought I'd ever let anyone know this side of me. I mean, my family knows I like to sing and everything, but they don't think it's anything more than just around home or in a school talent show."

"You sang in a talent show?" Isaac says, smiling and teasing her.

"Yes!" she laughs. "And I won it, thank you very much."

"I'm not worthy," he replies, doing a mock bow.

She laughs again but is interrupted when her phone beeps.

"It's Allison," she tells him as she checks the message. Her eyes scan the phone quickly and the fun and happiness drains from her face. "Lydia found a body."

Isaac's eyes open wide in disbelief and the two jump up and gather their things, knowing they have to go.

When they get outside, the cool air hits them hard and Camilla shivers, not having brought a thick enough coat.

Isaac takes his off and puts it over her. He pulls her closer to him as they make their way to his car.

_TEEN WOLF_

The next day, Scott, Stiles, Jackson and the rest of the lacrosse team make their way into the locker room after a hard practice.

Jackson immediately heads to the showers, but Scott and Stiles linger at their lockers.

"What do you think killed that girl?" Stiles asks in a hushed voice.

"I have no idea, but it didn't look good," Scott whispers back.

They don't speak of it anymore and Stiles makes his way over to the showers. Scott is about to when his phone starts ringing. He sees it's his mom and answers.

"Good, you answered. I didn't know if you were done with practice yet," she says.

"Yeah I was just about to shower, what's up?"

"Well you might want to sit down for this," she starts. "That body that was found last night had similar marks to a body we received not that long ago. And by similar I mean exactly the same. I thought this would be something up your alley."

"What do you mean? We didn't see any marks on her," Scott says to his mother.

"They were under her clothes," she tells him with sadness in her voice. "All over her chest. It looked like some ritual thing. They were on the chest of another body too."

Scott runs his free hand through his hair, "What does that mean?"

"Hell if I know. They don't teach this stuff at DeVry."

"Okay well can you send me a picture of the symbols so I can show Derek?"

Melissa breathes out a heavy sigh, "I'll try. Maybe I should just switch to being the coroner."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll call you later."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

Scott quickly jumps in the shower and tells Stiles and Jackson not to leave right away.

"Make it quick, McCall," Jackson says with a towel hugging his hips as he walks over to the boy's locker.

Scott, making sure everyone else has left, informs them about the information from his mom.

"No way. What the hell does this mean?" Stiles says after learning the news.

"I have no idea," Scott replies. His phone suddenly beeps, signaling two new picture messages.

"Here's the symbols!" Scott exclaims.

When he opens the text, the boys all gag at the sight.

One of bodies was clearly fresh, the other was obviously a picture of a picture. The body must have already been gone, but the file was still there.

Jackson looks closer at the picture and gasps.

"I've seen that design before…"

_TEEN WOLF_

"It's Nolan," Jackson says to Derek and the rest of the pack once they're at the loft, "in Chemistry I saw him drawing that symbol and then yesterday in econ he was drawing wolves. He knows something, I'm telling you."

Derek nods, "I think he and I should have a little chat."

"Maybe I should go," Scott says, "I am the Alpha."

"No offense Scott, but if we're trying to get this kid to confess why he's drawing symbols found on dead people, we'll need to intimidate him," Derek admits.

"I can be intimidating," Scott remarks.

Stiles speaks first, "No, no you can't man. It's the whole hair thing."

"And the crooked jaw thing," Camilla adds.

"Plus your eyes," Allison continues.

"And you do this thing where you just kind of instantly want to help a person," Isaac concludes.

"Okay," Scott says, "I'm not a big bad alpha. Sorry about it."

Derek feels a chuckle building in his chest, but he suppresses it, "So I'll deal with sketcher boy."

As the bigger werewolf begins to walk to the door, Jackson rushes to catch up with him, "Two things. One, you don't know where he lives. Two, you need to go easy on him – he won't just open up to some random stranger."

"Fine you can come too," Derek says, all the while rolling his eyes, "I need you for directions anyways."

"Oh, I don't know where he lives."

"Seriously? You.. okay, who would know where he lives?"

"Lydia," Allison suggests, "she's been hanging around with him lately."

Derek nods, "Wow, okay, so the Dynamic Dummies and I are going to go talk to this kid. Awesome."

The two werewolves leave the loft then, walking down and out of the building to file into Derek's sleek, black Camaro. They drive in silence all the way to Lydia's house and when the reach the white shuttered house, Jackson goes up to the door and somehow manages to get his ex-girlfriend to agree to come with them.

As the strawberry blonde gets into the back seat, she buckles her seatbelt and then says, "He lives on Clermont Street. His house is 2102."

_TEEN WOLF_

The three people in the car pull up to the Hayes house in nearly no time at all. They'd ridden in silence until Lydia finally breaks the quiet and says, "Jackson, you or me ought to go to the door. If Derek goes there's no way he'll talk to us."

"Why is that?" Derek questions.

"Well," Jackson begins, "if Scott isn't intimidating enough, you're way too intimidating."

Derek sighs, "Whatever. Let's just go talk to this kid."

Lydia gets out of the car first and walks up to the door, her boots making a soft pattering sound on the walkway that leads to the front porch of the yellow house. It's such an ordinary looking house, she thinks, why couldn't Nolan just be a regular boy who doesn't have to get mixed up in this stuff?

As she steps up onto the porch she looks behind her and says, "Let me do the talking."

The men just nod their heads and she's glad that both Derek and Jackson have both learned to listen.

Her finger presses the doorbell and as she waits she takes a quick glance at her blue, shimmering nail polish. The three of them wait on the porch for only a moment before they hear a dog barking from the backyard, and then movement inside the house.

It isn't long before Nolan pulls open the door, in a Dartmouth t-shirt and holey jeans.

"Is there a party I didn't know about?" he asks.

"Nolan, I really hope this doesn't sound way too insane, but…"

His face goes blank and Derek and Jackson can hear his heart rate pick up, "Crap. Okay, look what I saw on Saturday was no big deal at all. So what if you turn into wolves with claws? We've all got issues," he stammers, "I mean, I've got a mango allergy. My point though is that I'll keep quiet and stop drawing questionable images and you won't have to kill me. Please don't kill me."

"We aren't going to kill you," Derek says from behind Lydia, "not yet anyway."

"Is that helpful?" Lydia snaps, turning around to scold the werewolf.

Derek cracks a grin and smiles, "No, but it sure is fun."

As the red head and the brunette begin to bicker, Jackson steps into the light of the house and smiles, "We were kind of hoping we could see that symbol you drew."

"The…? Oh, yeah – as long as tall, dark, and bloodthirsty promises not to kill me," Nolan replies, shooting a nervous look at Derek.

"He won't," Lydia and Jackson say in unison.

Nolan nods his head and then allows the three people entrance into his house. They all look around, as though expecting there to be a trap. When there isn't, they follow Nolan down a wide hall, painted cream and decorated with various pictures - of what Lydia, Jackson, and Derek can only assume are family - then up the stairs, and to his bedroom. Upon entering, a tabby cat that lies asleep on his bed stands up, suddenly awake, and begins hissing at Jackson and Derek violently. The two men simply chuckle.

"Mars," the cat's owner scolds, "cut it out."

Instead of stopping though, the cat jumps off the bed and runs off down the hall. Pushing the incident aside, Nolan walks over to his backpack and fishes his red chemistry notebook out; flipping through the pages until he comes to the page that holds the image the three visitors had been looking for. He points at it absently and watches as Derek pulls out his phone and places it beside his drawing.

"They match," the man says.

Examining the phone Nolan says, "Well, shit."

"What is it?" Lydia questions.

"I did some research on that thing once I finished drawing it," the boy replies, "It turns out that it's something pretty big. It's a Resurrection Triquetra… which is used in raising the dead, obviously. The ankh in the top there stands for life, the amenta on the right is for the dead, and the ka on the left is spirit. And that little line in the center is a maat, which is for balance."

"And it's being carved into people because…?" Lydia asks.

"For one spirit to regain life, another spirit has to die; an eye for an eye, tit for tat and all that."

"Erica," Derek says, "that thing brought Erica back with that."

"So then she's not all herself," Nolan says, grabbing the group's attention again. "According to legend, once a person is brought back they owe some sort of allegiance to whoever raised them. Although the legend also says that not just anyone can bring someone back from the dead, it's only ever been done by something called Malum…"

"…Radix," Jackson says at the same time as Nolan, "Yeah, we've met."

"You can't have, he's not even in the reality," Nolan protests.

"How do you even know all of this?" Lydia remarks, "I mean it took me seeing Jackson turning into a Kanima to get my head into all the supernatural action and you just show up here and know all this stuff."

"Remember how I told you my father is a professor at UCBH? Well, he teaches occult. I've kind of got a lot of information on all things weird."

Lydia follows up, "So what, seeing a bunch of werewolves wasn't a rude awakening for you?"

"Not when they look like Jackson," Nolan says under his breath, before saying in his normal tone, "Not totally. I grew up around this stuff; I've read tons of legends and folklore about lycanthropy and the like. Actually seeing someone all werewolf-y was a little unsettling at first, but I wasn't about to run through the streets screaming werewolf."

"Then I definitely would've had to kill you," Derek says slyly.

"Stop threatening him," Jackson snaps at his once-alpha, evoking a glare from both Derek and Lydia.

Lydia shakes her head, ignoring the feeling in her gut that says something is extremely off with Jackson, and says, "Guys, so if that's what brought Erica back to life, then that means—"

"Someone else is coming back," Derek finishes.

_TEEN WOLF_

"We could play Scattegories while we wait," Stiles suggests to the group of Isaac, Camilla, Allison, Scott, and Erica.

Erica rolls her eyes and picks up a nail file from the coffee table, "No thanks."

Stiles looks around at everyone else expectantly. Nobody says anything.

"Camilla, do you, uh, have any suggestions?" he asks shakily.

She looks over at him with a blank face, "No."

"Alrighty, then," Stiles says awkwardly, running his hands over his pant legs.

Everyone sits in an awkward silence.

Cuddled close together, Isaac and Camilla laugh at tumblr posts on Camilla's phone. Scott and Allison both try glancing at each other secretly, but end up looking at the same time. Erica is still filing her nails.

"I'm Erica, by the way," Erica speaks up, looking at Camilla.

"Oh, God, sorry. I'm Camilla, Allison's cousin. I promise I won't try to kill you," she says sincerely.

"You're already my favorite Argent," Erica says with a smiling, shooting daggers at Allison.

Camilla smiles and turns back to Isaac who smiles back at her, his eyes gleaming.

"I'm Stiles," Stiles says to Camilla.

"I know, we've met already" she says, laughing.

"Well, yeah, but we never really talk so…" he trails off.

Camilla nods her head.

Scott laughs, which causes Allison to laugh.

The two are interrupted when Derek walks in. All eyes are on him as he explains the information he found out from Nolan.

The group is silent while they process the newly learned facts.

"Does it necessarily someone else is coming back? Couldn't that just mean The Root is using another body? I mean he was in Mr. Harris's body, what if he decided to switch?" Scott asks.

"That's not how it works," Derek says. "This thing brings back the real person. The Root just takes over bodies, I don't think he has to resurrect them since he's controlling the whole body, and the spirit or whatever isn't brought back. It's just a meat suit."

"So if this was used to bring me back, who was it carved into?" Erica asks.

"Well, we'll need to look at the death records and see who died around the time you came back," Derek answers the blonde.

Before she can respond Allison says, "Gerard. Gerard died the night she came back."

_TEEN WOLF_


	5. Save The Last Dance For Me (3x17)

Derek and Erica sit on the couch in Derek's loft late at night.

"It just freaks me out," Erica says to Derek. "I feel like at any minute I'll be in another trance and I'll kill someone."

Derek sighs, understanding her worries.

"I know. But I won't let you do that. Neither will Isaac. We're your pack, and we're always here to watch out for you."

Erica looks away from Derek's eyes, but before she did, Derek caught a look of sadness.

"What's on your mind?" he asks her in a gentle voice.

"I just hate feeling like a burden. One of you always has to keep an eye on me. I can't be trusted, and that is just added stress for the pack."

"Erica—" Derek starts, only to be interrupted.

"Really? Why should I be kept alive? We all know something isn't right with me, and that the Malum guy is behind it!" Erica's voice gets louder as she gets more upset. "I don't want to be the reason something goes wrong. I'm like a ticking time bomb!"

Erica stands up from the couch and storms towards the door to leave, her emotions taking over.

Derek stands up too, and in an instant he is right behind her, grabbing her arm and turning her around.

"Derek, stop! I'm not worth it. One day all hell is going to break lose, and it will all be because of me. Just let me go! I don't want to be—"

Her voice gets cut off when Derek leans forward and presses his lips against hers. Her arm is still in his grip, and she tenses up at first. After a few seconds she relaxes and kisses him back.

When they break apart, their hearts are beating fast.  
"I will never let anything happen to you. You are in this pack, and you sure as hell aren't leaving it," Derek says in a soft but commanding voice. Erica gulps and nods.

Derek lets go of her arm and turns to go to his bedroom.

Erica stands still and asks, "What was that for?"

Derek faces her and smiles a small smile before turning back and making his way to his room.

Erica shakes her head and goes to her own room.

She lays down on the bed, and smiles. She wishes Isaac was there to talk to her about what just happened, but he was somewhere with Camilla.

Thoughts run through Erica's mind. What did Derek mean by the kiss? Was he just trying to calm her down? Was it a friendly kiss? Did he feel something more for her? Should she even tell Isaac? Where was Isaac?

Before she could question anything else, Isaac crept into the room.

"Oh hey," he says when he sees Erica is awake. "I didn't think you'd be up."

"Trying to sneak in, Isaac?" Erica teases.

Isaac smiles as he begins to change into his pajamas.

"Not really. It's not like we have a curfew."

"True," Erica complies. "What were you doing anyways?"

"Camilla and I were just talking all night, and we didn't realize what time it was. Her dad was freaking out when I dropped her off."

Erica smiles a sincere smile. She was happy for him.

"You really like this girl, huh?" she asks.

"I do," he replies as he crawls in next to her.

"I wish I could get to know her better," Erica tells him. "She seems pretty cool."

"She's amazing," Isaac says.

Erica wishes she could be in love. Derek pops into her mind again and she frowns. She begins to wonder if she should say anything to Isaac, but decides not to.

"Derek says I can start going to school again," Erica says.

"Really?" Isaac asks, excitement filling his voice.

"Yeah. He says he'll get things figured out so no questions are asked."

"How's that going to work?"

"I have no idea," Erica answers truthfully.

In the other bedroom, Derek lays in his bed, trying to fall asleep.

After a few minutes, he begins to doze off when the door opens and a girl walks in, her features covered in shadows.

"Erica?" he asks.

The figure moves to the end of his bed and doesn't answer him.

"What are you doing?" he asks. He reaches over to his lamp and turns it on.

The light illuminates the girl, and Derek sees that it's not Erica, but Paige, the love of his life in high school.

His senses go on alert because he knows she can't be there, she's dead.

She lifts up her arms in surrender and says, "Hey, it's just a dream. Relax. Look, I can't even touch you." She walks forward slowly, and Derek is ready to pounce. But when she gets close, she reaches out and her hand goes right through his arm.

Derek doesn't relax at all, but Paige backs away and he feels better.

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to say hi," she answers. "Besides, this is your dream, you brought me here. I missed you Derek. I haven't been in your dreams in a while."

Derek eyes the girl, still suspicious.

"Well if you're not going to talk to me, you might as well just go back to sleep and stop the dream," she tells him.

Before he can say anything, the door opens and in walks Erica.

She doesn't say a word, but her eyes are glued on Paige.

"What the hell is going on?" Derek asks no one in particular.

Erica doesn't look at him, but instead she stares at Paige, her eyes glossed over.

Isaac walks in a second later and freezes.

"Derek who is that?" he asks, jumping in front of Erica. "Erica is in her trance again, why is she in here? What is this?"

Suddenly, Paige smiles.

"Well, damn, I almost had you," she says, looking at Derek.

"Malum," he growls.

"In the flesh!" he gestures. "Well, in your dead girlfriend's flesh."

"What do you want?"

"Oh I was just going to play a little trick, I was feeling bored."

"Get out before I make you get out," Derek snarls at him.

The Root sighs, "Fine." He snaps his fingers and Erica's body shudders. Isaac turns to her and makes sure she's okay.

"What's going on? Why am I—"

"Your master is here, dear! Keep up!" Malum says to her, smiling. "I am glad I brought you back. You're so nice to look at. And unlike this pre-pubescent body you're turning out to be quite the lady, you can't even tell you were dead for a few weeks!"

Erica's face darkens, but she doesn't move from her spot.

"Leave, now!" Derek commands.

"As you wish." He replies. "But before I go, Erica, are you planning on attending the Halloween dance tomorrow? I would love that. If you decide to, save the last dance for me."

The Root winks and snaps his fingers, and Paige's body disappears.

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott walks over to the lunch table casually and sets his tray down, taking a seat beside Lydia who is absently eating an orange slice. The dark haired boy watches in silence as the rest of his group comes walking toward them – Isaac walking close behind Erica who looks uncomfortable.

"You'd think they've never seen a dead girl before," Erica jokes as she sits down across from Allison.

Isaac shakes his head as he sits beside the blonde, "That really isn't funny," he tells her, "and if you're going to be back here you need to cool it with the 'I was dead' stuff. We are in a public space with non-supernaturals, you know."

"Don't be such a sourwolf," Stiles says, "I thought it was funny."

Erica beams at him and grabs her bright red apple, sinking her teeth into it.

"So we're all going to be at the dance tonight, right?" Camilla asks the group, "Because I swear to God if I show up and I'm the only one of us there…"

"Maybe you and I can go together," Isaac suggests, locking eyes with the Argent girl, "we both have to be there anyway. Might as well."

Camilla narrows her gaze, "I'll let you know what I'm wearing in Econ," she replies.

Isaac nods and looks across the table at Lydia who is still eating the same orange slice, "What is it?" he asks her.

"I'm just thinking," she replies, "why is it that we're taking orders from Derek? Aren't you the alpha in this town, Scott?"

"Yeah," the boy answers, "but Derek's got more experience and while I may have the leadership capabilities, I still need time to learn the ropes."

"Sure, whatever. All I know is that I am going to look smoking hot tonight," her eyes wander over to where Jackson sits with Danny and Ethan, "there's no way in hell anybody is going to be able to turn me down."

As conversation moves along to costumes, Nolan comes walking over. It's Scott who is first to acknowledge him.

"What's up?" Scott asks.

Setting a book down on the lunch table, Nolan begins to speak, "I've been doing more research on The Root. Apparently it's not really anything – not a man or woman or god or anything, just a power – and it can't fully make contact with the living world."

"Then how does it carve symbols into people and resurrect others?" Allison asks.

"Well, he does most of his work through minions. He's obviously got someone going around and putting the triquetra into people and the resurrection part is just the magic of the symbol. Since he had to have someone carve it in to bring Erica back, I think he's got someone else on his side. Someone who's probably human, because due to the supernatural nature of… well… supernaturals, he can't fully get his talons into you, so you still have some control."

"Thanks dude," Scott says, "if you can find anything else…"

"Yeah, no problem," Nolan nods, collecting his book and beginning to walk away.

Stiles rolls his eyes, "Are you kidding me, is he freaking Yoda? Come and eat with us," he says to Nolan.

"Are you sure?" the boy asks.

"The more the merrier," Allison replies, as Nolan grabs a seat beside her, "so, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott comes walking back into the main room of the clinic after cleaning out the cat cages as Deaton had asked. He slumps down in a chair beside the wall and waits until his boss comes into the room.

"All clear?" the vet asks.

Scott nods, "Yeah, I got it."

Deaton nods and grabs a folder from atop the desk across the room, "Well then that's all I needed."

"Before I go, I was wondering if you knew anything about something called um, Malum Radish..?"

Deaton turns around to face the young man, "You mean Malum Radix?"

Scott nods.

"That's what you brought back with you, isn't it?"

Again, the boy nods.

"All I know is that it's old and powerful… and trapped in the Other World," Deaton answers, "it's also the creator of the bad reputation of supernaturals."

"How do we send it back?" Scott asks.

"There's only two ways," Deaton begins, "and since it hasn't been in the world for thousands of years, there's no way to know if they work. You can either trick it into going back to its world or you can force it back."

"How do I force it back?"

"You'd have to do something along the lines of what you did to bring it here, but by doing that there's just as good a chance that you'll be letting any number of things into the world. And to trick it would be very complicated, you'd have to open a portal and try and get it to believe that it's doing harm for this world instead of good."

Scott sighs and puts his head into his hands, "And what about its bonds?"

"What about them?"

"The Root may or may not have sort of brought someone back…"

"Who?"

"Erica Reyes," Scott replies, "and we don't want her dead. So if the only way to break the bond is to kill her, we won't do that."

Deaton comes over to Scott and pulls a chair out so that he can sit beside his employee, "To break the bond you have to destroy whatever was used to resurrect her. I'm not sure what he used though."

"He carved this symbol into Allison's grandfather and that brought Erica back."

"Then you'll have to destroy Mr. Argent's body," Deaton tells him.

Scott looks at the man, "That's it?"

"Well, when The Root used Mr. Argent's body, he had to have a piece of Erica, so the spell would bring her specifically back. He could've used a picture, a lock of hair, a shirt she used to wear… And that has to be destroyed too. But most likely it will be left on Mr. Argent's body."

"But won't destroying the symbol destroy Erica?"

Deaton shakes his head, "The ritual has been completed. All destroying the symbol does is break any connection Erica would have with Malum Radix."

Scott nods, "So just destroy Gerard."

As the words begin to sink in Scott realizes it might be easier said than done.

_TEEN WOLF_

Allison and Camilla walk into their apartment, their costume bags in hand.

"Dad? Chris?" Camilla calls out.

The two brothers walk in to the living room, and upon the sight of them, the girls burst out laughing.

"You know you don't have to dress up just to hand out candy, right?" Allison says, eyeing her father's Captain Jack Sparrow attire.

"We're not handing out candy. We actually have somewhere to go," Chris tells the girls.

"Oh, God," Camilla groans. "Please don't tell me you're chaperoning the school dance."

"While that seems like a splendid idea since you think being out with boys until midnight is okay, we are not chaperoning your dance," Ron tells his daughter. "But I did look into it, and who knows I might stop by later."

Camilla groans again.

"Well where are you going, then?" Allison questions.

"Just some singles party…" Chris mumbles.

Allison laughs, "Seriously?" She looks at Ron, who is sporting a Spartan costume.

"Yes. We're both single, and rather than worrying about what kind of trouble our daughters are getting into with werewolves, we're going to do something for ourselves," Ron answers.

Camilla's face goes white, "You… you know Isaac is a—"

"Werewolf? Yes dear," Ron says calmly. "Chris told me. And I was mad at first, but I know that he's not a bad guy. Yet. And if he is, I know how to take care of it." He smiles and winks at his daughter.

"Well you won't have to. He's a good guy, dad. And I've already intimidated him enough," Camilla says.

"That's my girl," Ron says, coming over to put his arm around her shoulders. "Well, we're heading out. Don't know when we'll be back. You two stay safe, and bring some weapons. Your curfew is 11."

The four say their goodbyes and the men leave.

"Well that was weird," Allison says.

"Damn straight," Camilla replies.

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott pulls up to the front of Allison's building in his Superman costume. He feels ridiculous, but what else can he do? If he were to go to the dance without a costume then he was sure to stand out. As he waits in his car for Allison to come out, he looks at the clock. 7:33, the dance would already be in full swing by the time they arrived.

Without noticing it, Scott is greeted by a cold rush of wind when Allison opens the door. He stares at her as she sits down in the passenger seat and puts her seatbelt on.

"Yes," she says flatly, "I'm Little Red Riding Hood and before you say anything it's the only costume I could find. The store was pretty wiped out and I wasn't about to be a Sexy Grandma or something."

Scott smiles crookedly, "You look beautiful."

Allison can feel herself blush as she takes in Scott's outfit, "Superman, huh? It's fitting."

It's the boy's turn to blush as he puts the car in gear and the two take off down the street to pick up Stiles. He takes a left on Columbus Street and then says, "What do you think The Root is going to do tonight?"

"I'm more worried about whose coming back next," Allison replies, fiddling with the strings of her red cape, "I never thought I'd be glad that my mother was cremated."

Scott nods, "That's true. I mean Erica's one thing but what if it's someone not good. Like Miss Blake or Matt? Then we'd be in real trouble."

"No kidding," the girl stops speaking and stares out the window once they reach Stiles' and the boy comes walking toward the car, "Oh my god!" she laughs.

Stiles gets into the backseat and smiles up at Scott who is staring back at him through the rearview mirror.

"What?" Stiles asks, "Don't you like my costume?"

"A Werewolf?" Scott asks, looking at the ridiculous hairy chest his friend has on, "Seriously?"

"I thought it would be funny!" he protests, "Don't be a poor sport Scott, I might have to pee on your sho-oo-oooe!" he fake-howls.

Scott rolls his eyes and then drives his friends to the school, ignoring all the jokes Stiles makes to Allison, of which there is many, and mostly have to do with leg-humping. As they get to the high school, Allison is the first to speak.

"I'm packing," she says, opening the basket on her lap to show a small crossbow and several arrows, "just in case Malum sends something big and bad."

They then get out of the car, one after the other. Stiles hurries inside – paying the two dollar fee at the door – and shortly after spots Lydia, sitting in a chair by the bleachers with a blonde wig and a white dress on.

He smiles at her and heads over.

"You look gr-" he begins but is cut off.

"I show up here," she says, "looking fan-freaking-tastic, and Jackson completely ignores me. We've both been here over twenty minutes, he saw me walk in and yet he's just over there hanging out with Danny. Like what is his deal?"

Stiles looks over and sees Jackson dressed up like Elvis – wig, jumpsuit, cape and all.

"He is the King," Stiles jokes.

"Oh god isn't that funny," Lydia retorts, "this night is already crappy."

Stiles sits down then and looks the girl in the eye, "Are you serious? Lydia is this some kind of sick joke?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she questions.

"What am I..? You kissed me! You, Lydia Martin the girl I've been in love with since third grade, kissed me. You freaking put your mouth on my mouth – there were mouth noises even – and now you're all caught up on Jackson again?" Stiles spits out, "I get it, he was your first love and blah-blah-barf, but you were with Aiden and kissing on me and now that one of the Wonder Twins is gone, I thought maybe you and I would..."

Lydia scoffs, "You've certainly been friendly with Allison's cousin. Don't try and act like I'm some sort of one-kiss kind of girl, I'd gladly kiss you again, but since you're falling for sweet, innocent, hunter gal, I thought I could snag Jackson again. Maybe then I could get you to act somewhat interested."

"You were trying to get Jackson back to..?"

"What make you jealous?" Lydia finishes, sighing heavily, "That may have been part of it."

Stiles smiles at her, "You do realize that I've only got eyes for you right? Camilla is pretty, sure, but I've been in love with you since you told me I was a 'gross boy' in Mrs. Strauss' third grade class."

"Well you put mayonnaise on your PB&J, that's disgusting," Lydia chuckles.

"The PBJM is the master of all sandwiches," Stiles retorts, "don't knock it 'til you try it."

"I will never do that," she says back.

Stiles rolls his eyes, "Can I get you some punch at least?"

Lydia nods her wigged head and as the boy gets up she says, "You make a good werewolf, Stiles."

_TEEN WOLF_

A short while later, Isaac and Camilla walk into the dance, hand in hand. Isaac shows of his muscles in his Hercules costume, and every one of Camilla's curves is highlighted in her Megara costume.

"Aw, Hercules and Meg!" gushes a freshman to the pair. "You guys are super cute!"

The two smile and make their way over to the table where Allison, Scott, Stiles, and Lydia sit.

"We do look pretty cute," Isaac whispers into Camilla's ear, making her giggle.

"Normally I would be okay with you two flirting like you've just been shot with Cupid's arrow, but tonight, not so much," Lydia snaps when they reach the table.

"Ouch," Camilla says. "Why so angry, Marilyn?"

"She's mad because Jackson hasn't said one word to her," Allison tells her cousin.

"What you mean the gay guy? Why would you want his attention?" Camilla asks, looking over at where the boy stands.

"What do you mean gay?" Lydia demands, her face extremely puzzled. "He's dancing with a girl."

"Yeah, but where are his eyes?" Camilla asks, causing the group to notice that Jackson is staring at Danny's butt. "And his body language screams that he does not want to be dancing with that girl."

Everyone is silent as they realize her words are true.

"I mean, maybe I'm just making things up, but I always thought he was gay. Sorry."

Isaac shakes his head and turns his attention back to Camilla, "Well speaking of dancing, would you like to join me on the dance floor?"

"Of course," she replies. He grabs her hand once again and the two make their way towards the DJ.

The four sit at the table, not saying a word.

Lydia's eyes are open wide as she thinks about what Camilla said.

_TEEN WOLF_

"You don't need to go in," Erica says to Derek. "You can just make sure I'm with Isaac and leave. You're not even dressed up."

"No, I'm staying. The Root basically threatened you, so I need to be here. I told you I'm not letting anything happen to you, and I mean it." Derek doesn't look at Erica, which frustrates her.

They get up to the door of the dance, and Derek pays for the both of them.

Inside, the dance is full of costumes. Derek had decided earlier to just come as himself, clad in a motorcycle jacket and jeans. Erica was a sexy vampire.

"There's Isaac and Camilla," Erica says, pointing out the couple on the dance floor. She starts to make her way over to them, but Derek stops her.

"No way. You're not leaving my side."

"Seriously? I can't even dance at a dance?"

"Not if it means you not being by me," he answers her in a serious tone.

"Well why don't you go dance then? You'll be right by me the whole time, and we can both have some fun," Erica tries to persuade him.

"Dancing isn't my thing," he answers.

Erica rolls her eyes, "Great, the first high school dance I attend where I actually look hot and I can't even dance."

Derek doesn't answer, but makes his way to the refreshments table.

Erica stands behind him with her arms crossed and waits for him.

"Would you like some punch?" asks a pretty blonde serving the drinks.

"From you, of course," he flirts.

Erica scowls and makes her way over to the table, angry.

"Hey babe, will you get me some punch too?" she asks, wrapping her arms around one of his biceps and eyeing the blonde woman.

Derek tenses up, but doesn't react, knowing he can't cause a scene.

"Can you believe he wouldn't dress up?" Erica asks the blonde with fake surprise. "At least he sort of looks like a cute biker."

The woman nods and serves them their punch.

"Thanks so much!" Erica exclaims insincerely.

When they walk away, Erica pulls away from Derek and smiles at herself.

"What the hell was that?" he growls.

"Well, I know what happened the last time you flirted with our school staff, so I was stopping history from repeating," she says slyly.

Derek rolls his eyes and sits down at a table.

"And since you aren't letting me dance, I figured I might as well have a little fun while I could," Erica adds, sipping her drink.

Derek's face is creased with anger, but on the inside, he is a bit amused.

After a few minutes, Derek speaks up.

"A cute biker, huh?"

Erica laughs, "Don't flatter yourself, I was just trying to make conversation with her to make her feel uncomfortable."

"Uh huh," he says, a hint of a smile on his face.

"So what's the point of us being here if we're just going to sit here?" Erica asks, biting off a cherry from her punch and chewing it.

"Well, The Root said to save the last dance for him, so I figure that means he'll be here. So we need to keep an eye on things. And you need to be here since he has some weird obsession with you."

This angers Erica, and she exclaims, "So I'm basically bait for this thing?"

"Well I don't see why he would come unless you were here…"

"Seriously, Derek? That Nolan kid says I'm basically his slave, so what if he makes me do something crazy? You said you were watching out for me!"

"I am—"

"No you're not!" she interrupts. "Bringing me in public when you know Malum is going to be here? Real smart, Derek. Oh, and not to mention, great for my safety."

Erica stands up and pulls a tied cherry stem out of her mouth before saying, "I'm getting more punch from your girlfriend."

Derek sighs loudly and stands up to follow her.

"I don't need a babysitter," she says to him over her shoulder.

"The hell you don't," Derek mutters under his breath. He begins to go after her when a kid dressed up as a prince runs into him and nearly spills his punch on Derek.

"Woah, sorry dude. I almost ruined your biker costume," the kid says.

"Get out of my way, Prince Charming," Derek replies. When he looks up to find Erica, he spots her talking to a guy in a knight costume.

He starts to walk over to her, but when he does, he notices Erica nod and take the knight's arm. He begins to lead Erica to the dance floor.

"Are you kidding me?" Derek roars, causing a few people to look over.

He tries to follow her and make her leave, but he loses her in the crowd of people.

He spots her a few minutes later, towards the end of the song. He catches her eye and makes a gesture that tells her she needs to come to him, now.

She holds up her index finger, signaling she will in a little bit.

Derek rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, waiting for her to finish.

He starts to go over what he is going to yell at her when she gets done, and he keeps his eyes on her the whole time.

He gets distracted while watching her, and he loses his train of thought. Her body moves perfectly to the music, and Derek can't help but stare.

She moves fluidly, and her costume shows off her body, making it better to watch.

She notices his eyes glued on her, and she locks eyes with him. Her body moves seductively on her dance partner, but her eyes tell Derek she does it for him.

Thoughts of their kiss play through his head, and suddenly, all he wants is to do it again. He wants to be the one dancing with her, holding her body as she moves.

The song ends, and Erica's eyes leave Derek's so she can talk to the guy she was dancing with.

Derek watches carefully.

The knight nods and gives her a hug, but before Erica can leave, he takes off his helmet and reveals himself to her.

Her eyes go wide and Derek's do too as he looks upon the boy.

Boyd.

He smiles at Erica and bows down to kiss her hand.

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek storms through the bodies, pushing them out of the way, trying to make it to Erica. He loses her several times, but eventually he gets to her.

Boyd is nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Derek growls, ready to attack.

"I don't know, he just disappeared," Erica stammers.

"Was it really him? Or was it The Root?" Derek asks her, still looking around.

"It was him. I could feel it. He… he told me that Malum brought him back," Erica gulps. "He said that he wishes I would join them, that way Malum wouldn't have to control me anymore."

"Is Malum here?" Derek asks, turning to face Erica. When he looks at her, he sees the fear in her eyes.

"Hey," he says, putting his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him. "You're ok now. I'm here, and I'm pretty sure he's gone."

"But Boyd was normal," Erica says, worriedly. "He wasn't in a trance or anything. He was fully aware of himself. But he still wanted to help Malum. Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, but you need to calm down," Derek tells the blonde, who was slightly shaking.

She doesn't answer and looks away.

Derek, not knowing what to do says, "Erica. Stay with me. Calm down."

Erica shakes her head, frightened, "What if that happens to me? What if he can make me want to help him?"

"Erica!" Derek yells loud enough for a few people to look over. "Stop worrying. I will never, ever let that happen. You're with me now, and you never will be anywhere else, okay?"

Erica looks up at him, not entirely convinced.

"We're safe here. Let's just dance and calm down, okay? Then we'll find Scott and everyone else and figure it out." Derek says.

After a beat, Erica nods and leans into Derek, placing her arms around him.

Derek listens to her heart pound and moves to the slow music, trying to get her to relax.

Erica leans her head in, not even thinking about it, and rests it on Derek. She closes her eyes, and breathes in his familiar scent.

"You'll always be safe with me," Derek whispers into her ear.

_TEEN WOLF_

Jackson dances away from Danny and Ethan, who are locked in each other's arms, dancing to the slow song playing.

He walks over to a table and sits down as two girls get up and walk away from it. He pays no attention to that though and turns behind him to see if anyone else is there, when he sees a boy in light blue scrubs smile at him.

"Dr. Nolan," Jackson smiles, producing a bottle from inside of his jumpsuit, "care for a sip?"

"Elvis, Elvis let me be," Nolan grins, "keep that vodka far from me."

Jackson chuckles and sets the bottle on the table, "You're a Grease fan?"

"It was the first movie I ever saw," Nolan replies, "I'm surprised you know it. Aren't lacrosse players – or any athlete for that matter – supposed to only be in to movies with fast cars and sexy women?"

"That sounds weird coming from you," Jackson says, "but I am a fan. Try not to stereotype your friends, for future reference. I mean, McCall may be a werewolf but that doesn't mean he likes to go after constipated looking chicks."

"And you're making fun of Twilight, are you trying to get me to fall for you?"

Jackson raises an eyebrow, "Is it working?"

Nolan blushes in reply.

"So how come I haven't seen you dancing?"

Nolan sighs, "Just because I helped plan it, doesn't mean I get to partake in it."

"Are you not supposed to?" the light brown haired boy asks casually.

"It's not that, it's just…"

"Then do you wanna dance?" Jackson asks, just as I Only Have Eyes for You starts to play.

Nolan looks into Jackson's gray-blue eyes, "It's a slow song."

"So?" is Jackson's only remark.

Just as Nolan is about to reply, Isaac comes storming up to the pair, "Have either of you seen Camilla?"

Jackson shakes his head no and Nolan says, "Not since I saw her spike the punch, which she didn't do very inconspicuously."

"I can't find her," Isaac says, "Jackson what if The Root—"

Jackson nods and looks at Nolan, "I'm sorry about this."

"It's fine," Nolan says, "I should go talk to the DJ, tell him the next song needs to be the last. If I see Camilla I'll let her know you're looking for her."

Isaac nods and tells Jackson to ask Scott if he's seen her as the Hercules-dressed boy runs up to Allison.

The red hooded girl smiles at Isaac as he approaches, "That really is a great costume," she says.

"I can't find Camilla," he says worriedly, "I went to go get us punch and when I came back she was gone. Allison what if she's…"

"Have you tried her cell?" Allison asks.

"Of course and I didn't get an answer."

Allison grabs Isaac's hand and pulls him over to where Lydia and Stiles dance ever so slowly. The brunette yanks Stiles away from Lydia and asks quickly, "Have you seen my cousin?"

Both kids shake their head no.

"Alright kids," the DJ says as the song comes to a close, "This is our last song, and it comes with a message to the Pack from Boyd, 'See you soon!'"

It is then that Die Young by Ke$ha starts to play loudly throughout the gym.

_TEEN WOLF_

Across the room, Erica tenses up. Derek's eyes widen.

Before either of them can say a word, Jackson rushes up to them.

"Have either of you seen Camilla or Nolan?"

"Jackson, did you not just hear this announcement? We've got other things to worry about," Derek tells him.

"Derek, they're both missing. Don't you think that's a bit weird? We get this message from Boyd and our two new friends just decide to disappear? I don't think it's a coincidence."

Derek sighs and says, "Fine. Find everyone and tell them to meet in the parking lot. Now."

Jackson nods and takes off to deliver the message.

"You okay?" Derek asks Erica, who nods unconvincingly.

"I won't leave your side, I promise," Derek tells her, looking deeply into her eyes. He grabs her hand and pulls her gently off the dance floor. "Let's go find out what's going on."

The two make it outside into the cool night and wait for the others to arrive.

Isaac is the first to get there, and he looks curiously at the two, who are still holding hands. They quickly let go, and Isaac brushes it off, more preoccupied with finding Camilla.

When everyone gets there Derek is the first to speak.

"Boyd is back. He told Erica that Malum brought him back, so we think that he's the one the little girl was sacrificed for."

"So he's the other slave?" Stiles asks.

"Well, kind of. He also told Erica that he is on Malum's side, and he seemed normal. So we think The Root did something to control him without having to put him in a trance."

"I thought he couldn't fully control supernatural beings?" Scott asks.

"That's why we're confused," Derek tells him.

"I think Boyd took Camilla. And probably Nolan, too," Isaac tells the group.

"Are you sure Nolan didn't just leave, Jackson?" Derek asks. "He's not exactly a friend of the pack like Camilla is."

Lydia snorts, causing everyone to look at her.

Jackson rolls his eyes and says, "So what? He's been supplying information to us about The Root. Just because no one is dating him doesn't mean he isn't worth anything to us."

"He's right," Scott says. "We need to find them."

"Fine, but where do we start looking?" Derek asks.

"Well, The Root was at the Hale house last time, so we might as well start there," Scott answers.

"Okay. Everyone get in a car and head there. No one goes in until we're all there and have a plan worked out," Derek commands.

Everyone heads for a car and Derek and Erica are left alone, heading towards Derek's Camaro.

"Are you okay with going there?" Derek asks her quietly.

"I'll be fine," Erica answers.

"No you won't."

Erica sighs, "Well I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Derek takes her hand again, "Like I said before, I won't leave your side."

_TEEN WOLF_

When the group arrives, they hatch a plan to all enter the house at the same time.

"Nobody goes anywhere without someone else, okay? And if you see or hear anything, call for help," Derek tells everyone.

When everyone agrees, they head up the stairs.

Almost immediately, they hear a female's voice cursing loudly at someone.

"That's Camilla," Allison says.

"That's definitely Camilla," Isaac agrees, stepping forward and charging into the house.

The large group follows Camilla's voice to the basement.

There she sits tied up and fuming.

"You bastard! I swear to God I will kill your Root of Evil bullshit ass! You fu—"

She stops yelling when she hears everyone coming.

Isaac rushes over to her, shaking from relief, "Thank God! What did he do to you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answers. "That piece of shit has another minion though. I'm pretty sure it's that hulking black guy that Huckleberry Finn runs away with."

"That's Boyd," Allison tells her, making her way over to her cousin. Allison bends over and begins working to cut the tight rope binding her.

"Makes sense. Yeah, I was waiting for Isaac to come back and then all of a sudden this guy grabs me and the next thing I know I'm here. Oh, and Nolan is over there. He's still passed out I think." She nods her head in the direction of a dark room.

Jackson, Scott, and Stiles head that way to retrieve the boy.

"Where did The Root go?" Derek asks.

"I don't know, I never saw him. I've just been yelling at the shithead to try and get him down here."

Allison cuts the last rope and Camilla is released. She pulls her arms forward and everyone can see her wrists are bleeding from being bound.

Isaac grabs her and helps her stand up, "Do you need to go to the hospital?" His eyes stay on her, worried. He doesn't let her go.

"No, I'll be fine. I just want to get the hell out of here," she tells him. "Thanks for saving me, Hercules." She leans over and kisses Isaac.

"Well, if you guys want to keep making out, go right ahead, but I'm leaving before anything else happens," Lydia says. "Stiles! Let's go!"

The three boys appear from the room, a delirious-looking Nolan leaning on Scott and Jackson for support.

"No more time to talk," Derek tells everyone. "Let's get out of here and meet up at the loft. Then we can figure everything out."

Everyone starts to make their way to the stairs, when they hear footsteps making their way down. The wolves all go into alert, and Allison pulls out her bow.

"Why hello everyone!" Paige's voice says, when she appears at the foot of the stairs. "Nice that everyone came out to the party!"

"Malum, what do you want?" Scott asks angrily.

"My my Scott, you sure are feisty. I just wanted to see everyone's costumes! I decided not to go to the dance, I figured I might as well just have an after party here!"

"What did you do to Boyd?" Derek asks.

"Oh not much. I just brought him back, I thought you guys would be happy! You liked it when I brought blondie back."

Nobody answers, so The Root speaks again.

"Anyways, he is a lot easier to control than Erica. He really helped out with getting the whole gang here tonight."

"We're here, now let us go," Scott says with his teeth clenched.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast," he replies. Everyone watches as he snaps his fingers and says, "Let's get this party started, shall we?"

_TEEN WOLF_


	6. Dreamworld (3x18)

Boyd stares at the group lying on the charred floor of the Hale house, his brows draw together as he asks, "What exactly did you do to them?"

The Root, still disguised as Paige, looks up at the boy, "I just put them down for little nap. Most of them probably needed it anyway, running around on all fours all night has got to make you tired."

Boyd shifts nervously and takes off the remaining piece of his knight costume, letting the metal piece fall to the floor with a crash.

"Boyd, relax, your friends are going to be just fine… in theory."

_TEEN WOLF_

Slowly and somewhat painfully, Erica's eyes flutter open. As she peers around, she's unsure of where she is, but knows that it isn't the somewhat-familiar Hale house. She runs a hand through her long blonde hair and sits up, realizing that she is on a bed.

She turns her head to the left and sees Derek standing in robes, talking to some woman with black hair. Anger pulses through her body as she gets off of the bed and rushes over to him, prepared to slap him… but why? She wonders, _why am I so pissed off? It's not like he's my boyfriend._

Derek waves the woman off, and she bows before she leaves.

"My darling Hera!" Derek bellows as he wraps Erica in a hug, "How was your slumber, my wife?"

"Hera? Wife? Derek, what are you talking about?" the girl questions.

"Derek? Who is this Derek you speak of?" he asks.

She rolls her eyes, "Don't bullshit me, Derek. What's going on?"

He stares at her worriedly, "Hera, my love, are you ill?"

"Derek, my name isn't Hera it's…" but before she could finish, Stiles comes flying toward the pair, his face contorted with sorrow.

"Zeus," the boy says once he lands. "I come with tragic news."

"What is it Hermes?" Derek asks Stiles.

Stiles shakes his head, "I think it would be best if you come see for yourself. My telling you won't simply be enough proof."

Hesitantly, Derek nods. He grabs Erica's hand, and the three of them begin to head across the open, cloudy place. Erica feels light in a way she's never felt, and looking down she sees herself dressed in a long, beautiful gown.

The group stops once they reach a tall door with intricate carvings.

"Why have we stopped at Athena's room?" Derek questions.

Stiles turns to face Derek and Erica and says, "I thought it best to keep this quiet until given orders by you." They enter the room, and Erica sees a woman lying still on a bed, her face is covered by her hair.

"Why are you showing me this?" Derek asks.

"Zeus…I'm afraid Athena is no longer with us," Stiles says sadly.

"What do you mean?" Derek says, a bit angry. "She is right there!"

"She's dead, Zeus," Stiles tells him quietly.

Erica takes a closer look and recognizes the girl on the bed.

"Oh my god!" Erica shrieks, "That's Lydia!"

"Who is this Lydia, you speak of, Hera?" Stiles questions.

"She's under some sort of fever I believe, Hermes," Derek tells Stiles. "But what's more important now is what happened. Have you any idea?"

"No, sir," Stiles replies, "I haven't any idea. But it doesn't make sense… how can she be dead? We're gods, we're immortal! We can't die, it's simply impossible!"

"So we're gods… This is a dream and we're gods," Erica whispers to herself, then louder she says, "Okay, uh, Zeus? What's going on?"

Derek turns slightly to look at the blonde, "It appears as though there may be a murderer among us, my beloved."

_TEEN WOLF_

Erica makes her way down the unfamiliar pathways, wandering around.

"Hera, my dear," says Derek's voice from behind her. "You disappeared so quickly earlier. I was worried about you, although my thoughts were consumed with confusion about Athena's death. Come, love, it is time to feast."

Erica smiles uneasily and takes Derek's hand, letting him guide her.

Soon, they come upon a lofty area. Erica looks up and can see a dark sky full of stars. The floor she walks on looks like clouds.

All around the room are golden thrones, most of them occupied by people Erica knows. A few are empty, and two are filled by people Erica doesn't know.

"When will this freaking dream end?" she mutters under her breath.

Derek guides her to a throne next to Isaac, who she had learned was Ares in this dream. Derek sits next to her, and beside him sits Scott, also known as Poseidon.

Erica looks around her dream land in amazement. Everything looks heavenly, as it should, since it was supposed to be Mount Olympus. Even the people were dressed to part. Everyone was head to toe in beautiful robes and gowns, most of which showed off a lot of skin. A few of the guys were even shirtless.

A beautiful servant places a strange liquid in front of her and quickly leaves. Erica notices other servants have done the same for everyone else.

"Everyone feast now, we have much to discuss," Derek commands.

The group obeys and begins their consumption of the strange… meal?

Erica does her best to mimic those around her by gracefully feeding on what was in front of her.

"Aren't you famished, Hera? You've been lacking in appetite lately, I assumed it would be back by now, but you're barely touching your ambrosia and nectar!" Derek exclaims, obviously caring for her unwillingness to eat.

_Ah, that's what this crap is_, Erica thinks to herself.

"Um, I'm just feeling a little down is all, Zeus," she replies.

"Perhaps you are with child again," Derek says with a seductive smile. Erica can't help but wish she could see that smile from the real Derek.

The feast goes on for a bit before someone asks where Hermes is.

Derek frowns, "I presumed he was still mourning Athena's untimely demise, but I suppose his absence is peculiar."

Before anyone can elaborate, a woman rushes into the room wailing. In her arms, Stiles lies limp.

"Peitho! What is this madness?" Derek roars, standing up suddenly.

"I found him near the gardens," she cries. "This is impossible! Gods don't die! Hermes can't be dead!"

Derek slams his fist on his thrown, and a crash of lighting is seen.

"What impossible thing is the cause of these deaths? Something unnatural is killing my gods, and I will not rest until I discover who or what it is!"

All around Erica, chaos ensues. Gods and goddesses wail and mourn the second death. Some are rushing around, not sure of what to do.

Derek begins commanding the lesser gods to call upon Hades, convinced the lord of the dead has something to do with the recent tragedies.

Erica sits in her throne, unsure of what she can do. _Why can't I just wake up? _she asks herself. _I know I'm dreaming, hello, brain!_

She looks around again and notices Camilla, Aphrodite in the dream world, is looking at Isaac. Near her, her husband, Jackson, who Erica learned is Hephaestus, stands, awaiting commands from Derek. Isaac is oblivious to Camilla's gaze, too preoccupied with the commotion.

Erica's brow furrows as she identifies the look of love and longing in Aphrodite's face.

_If she wants to be with him, why doesn't she? From what I know of Greek mythology, Aphrodite is a bit of a whore. Sorry, Camilla._

Erica begins to turn away when Isaac suddenly looks back at Camilla and smiles a sad smile. She can see the same look of desperation in his eyes.

_Damn, not only do they belong together in the real world, but they do in freaking goddess world too, _Erica says to herself, admiring the consistency.

Derek walks up to her and places his hand on her cheek, "My love, I must go assist the others in preparations for more protection. I want you to stay safe, so go to our bedroom quarters and await my arrival. Be safe."

When he finishes talking, he bends down and passionately kisses her. Their mouths don't part for over a minute, and heat flashes through Erica's body. When they pull apart, Erica craves more, but Derek smiles at her one last time and turns away.

_Holy shit, I need to wake up._

_TEEN WOLF_

Later on, Erica is wanders around Mount Olympus. Derek told her to go to their room, but she has no idea where that is, or how to get there.

She comes upon a beautiful area full of ponds with shimmering blue water. Near one of the ponds, Camilla sits, combing her hair.

"Hera," she says with a smile when she notices the blonde girl. "I didn't hear you approach."

Erica smiles back and sits on the opposite side of the bench that Camilla occupies.

"How are you, Aphrodite?" Erica asks, deciding to play along.

The girl sighs and says, "I'm alright. I feel terrible about the deaths. I don't understand how immortals are dying… But I'm trying to keep my mind off of that… And other things." She sighs again.

"I know," Erica tells her. "I saw you and Ares earlier. It's obvious you like each other."

Camilla's eyes open wide, but she smiles, "You saw that?" She laughs a sultry laugh.

"It was hard not to, you were practically undressing each other in your minds."

"If only. Hephaestus would be enraged if he found out I was admiring his brother," she tells Erica with sadness in her voice.

"So what?" Erica says. "It's not like he can really do anything. If you love someone and they love you, there shouldn't be any reason you should be apart." As Erica says these words, she thinks about her life with Derek, but brushes it aside.

Camilla thinks for a moment before she speaks, "You're right. With gods dying, now is the best time to do what I want. I shouldn't be unhappy. If we all won't live forever, we need to live our lives happy."

Erica smiles and agrees.

Camilla stands up and starts to leave, but before she goes she tells Erica, "Thank you, Hera. I never would've done this without your guidance. But I already feel happier."

"Go, girl. Be with your man," Erica says, shooing her playfully with her hand.

A while later, in another room, Derek paces back and forth, waiting for some news.

"Hades will be here soon," says a servant, delivering the message.

Derek sighs and waves him off. He is beginning to plan what to do with his brother when Jackson walks in.

"Have you seen Aphrodite?" the god asks.

"I haven't since dinner," Derek tells him. "Why, is something the matter?"

"No, I just can't seem to find her," Jackson replies.

Before Derek can reply, Erica walks in. She almost laughs when she sees Derek and Jackson actually acting civil, rather than insulting each other every two seconds.

"Ah, Hera, my beautiful wife," Derek says, wrapping his arms around her when she nears him. "Have you seen Aphrodite lately? Hephaestus was looking for her."

"Yeah, I just saw her about ten minutes ago. She was looking for Ares."

An annoyed look crosses over Jackson's face, "Of course she was."

Erica holds in another laugh and has to avert her eyes.

"Thank you Zeus… Hera," Jackson says nodding thanks to both of them.

He leaves the room and starts to make his way around Mount Olympus.

"Aphrodite!" he calls out, angry.

This isn't the first time he's caught his wife drooling over the god of war.

Nobody answers, so Jackson keeps searching. He eventually comes to Ares's room and enters without knocking.

In the bed is Isaac, with Camilla next to him. Shock rushes through Jackson's body, but not because they are in bed together, but because they are both dead.

_TEEN WOLF_

"Was it you?" Erica hears Jackson ask later that night after Hades… Nolan… arrived.

"I know you all like to paint me as the villain," Nolan replies sourly, "but truthfully, Hephaestus, I had nothing to do with any murder."

"Are you willing to admit that to Zeus?"

"I'll admit it to anyone you'd like."

Just then Derek enters the room, noting absently that Erica is present, "Hades," the man says with a thunderous voice, "are you aware of what's been going on?"

"Yes, Zeus, I am," Nolan replies. "News travels fast, even to the underworld. But I can most assure you that I've had nothing to do with these murders. Although I'd like to shake the hand of whoever did it, I've got a whole mess of new souls to play with."

"And how can we know you don't lie?"

Nolan scoffs, "Ask the Fates if you must. I haven't any control over who lives or dies, and frankly I find it hard to believe any of us are dead. We're immortals, we cannot die."

"Someone's learned of a way," Jackson says, "they killed my beloved."

"Your beloved never loved you," Nolan replies, "word is that she fancied Ares. Save your sorrow for someone else."

Jackson looks away from Nolan, but Erica notices that Jackson looks almost as though he agrees. It's then that Jackson leaves the room, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving Derek, Erica, and Nolan alone in the room.

"I need answers," Derek shouts.

Nolan rolls his eyes, "I don't know what to tell you, Zeus. I only know what I hear, and what I hear is that gods are dying. I can only assume the person committing the crime is someone of permanent residence on Mount Olympus."

"Nol—" Erica begins to say before she catches herself, "Hades has a point. When he arrived he made quite the entrance, wouldn't that be hard to ignore if he were coming up here at intervals to kill us?"

Nolan agrees. "You know I'm not one for being subtle."

It's then that there's a loud knock on the door, and in walks Allison (Artemis) with a bow strapped tightly against her back. Her face is consumed with sadness, and tears are streaming down her face.

"Artemis," Nolan smiles, "how good it is to see you."

Ignoring Nolan's comment, Allison looks up at Derek and says breathlessly, "Zeus, someone else has been killed."

"Who?" Derek asks coldly.

"Hephaestus," Allison replies, "his head has been completely removed."

"He was here but not seconds ago!" Derek protests.

"And his head lies just outside the door!" Allison says sorrowfully.

"I suppose this means I'm in the clear?" Nolan asks.

"Hades," Derek says locking eyes with the boy, "what is going on?"

Nolan shakes his head, "I don't know, but it isn't good. Whatever this murderer is it's powerful."

"We must do something to ensure the remaining few safety," Allison adds quickly.

All is quiet when suddenly there's a huge burst of lightening followed by a ground-shaking bout of thunder as Derek yells from frustration.

_TEEN WOLF_

Erica lays awake in her bed. Well, Hera's bed. She eventually had someone lead her there when she realized her dream wasn't going to be over anytime soon.

The silk sheets feel amazing against her skin, and her dress is surprisingly comfortable. She almost feels like a real goddess.

_Maybe if I fall asleep, I'll wake up in real life_, she thinks to herself.

Her eyes begin to flutter shut and her breathing slows. A minute later, the door to her room slams open, and a frantic-looking Derek storms in.

"Hera! We must go now! Poseidon is dead. Almost everyone is dead. Nowhere is safe anymore!" he roars. He pulls her from the bed, gently but forcibly.

Erica's mouth opens in shock.

"We must go," he says urgently as he leads her out of the room in a hurry.

"Where are we going?" she asks him, struggling to move her feet fast enough.

"Somewhere with the most protection. Where we keep our prisoners," he responds in a determined voice.

The two go around several corners and make their way through many paths. Eventually, they reach a door guarded by an unfamiliar man. When he spots Derek, he nods his head and allows the two access to the room.

"Hades is in here, we had no choice but to keep him in Mount Olympus for the time being," Zeus says with sorrow in his tone.

"What are we going to do? Just wait until the killer finds us?" Erica asks, her heart pounding.

"No, my love. We are going to gather the rest of our people and flee. But first, we must assure everyone still alive is within our ranks," he answers her. He leads her through a dark room where more men stand guard.

Erica can't see much, but as she gets further back into the room she sees cells. She can't tell if they are occupied or not due to the dim lighting. The whole room looks like it was from a movie.

Near a cell, Nolan sits very still. As they get closer, the god looks unconscious.

"Zeus, what is wrong with Hades?" Erica asks.

Derek turns his attention to the body sitting on the ground in the cell. His eyes go wide and he lets go of Erica's hand. Derek rushes to Nolan's side.

"Hades," he calls, shaking the god. "HADES!"

The auburn boy doesn't respond, but his head lulls to the side.

"How is this possible?" Derek yells. He leaves the cell and goes up to one of the guards.

"Who was in here? Who visited Hades? Who did this?" The anger is prominent in Derek's voice, making the guard tremble.

"It was only us, Almighty One. Well, and Artemis came earlier, under your command," he answers in a shaky voice.

"Artemis? I did not command her entrance into this room, what are you talking about?" his voice booms, filling the quiet room. Erica wonders why Allison was in the room.

"Sh-she came here and said you demanded she visit Hades. She was only here a moment… I didn't…" the guard shakes in fear.

"Artemis…" Derek says quietly, thinking. "Why would she do this? How is it possible?"

Before another word is spoken, the door to the room bursts open, and the goddess walks in with a smile on her face and a weapon in her hand.

The guards jump on her within seconds, but the goddess is too quick and strong. Within minutes, Derek and Erica are left with no protection. Derek leaps in front of Erica, protecting her.

_Well, shit, Allison,_ Erica says in her mind.

"Artemis, has it been you this whole time? Destroying your own people?" Derek cries in disbelief.

"Congratulations, Zeus. You figured it out. I thought it would take you longer," she says with a snarky smile on her face. She walks forward until she is only mere feet before the two.

"Why? Why do this?" Derek asks.

Allison shrugs, "Because I could."

In a flash, she is upon Derek, who jumps to block Erica. The two battle, but Allison gains the opportunity to strike, and she takes it.

Derek's face fills with shock, and he looks down at the sword protruding from his center.

"H-how?" he whispers painfully, sinking to his knees.

"A little poison I whipped up. It turns gods into mortals. Took me a lot of sacrifice, but I think it was worth it," she tells him proudly and points to the sword. "I just dipped this baby into the final product and wa-la. A perfect weapon to kill gods."

She lifts her foot and places it on Derek's chest, and with her hands wrapped around the sword's handle, she pulls it from his abdomen.

The weak god crumples to the floor, life slipping from his grasp.

"Please," he begs with his last breath. "Spare Hera."

Derek's eyes find Erica's, and pure love and fear reflect in them.

Erica had been standing still the whole time, too shocked to move.

Allison turns her attention to the blonde and smiles.

Derek's eyes close right as the brunette goddess starts toward Erica.

"Goodbye, Queen Hera," Allison snarls as she lifts her weapon and slams it into Erica's heart.

Erica chokes on a scream and falls to the floor, the sword still stuck in her.

The last thing she sees is Allison's evil smile.

When Erica's eyes close, Allison pulls her sword out again.

Proud of her work, she leaves the room to find more gods to kill.

She makes it to a room full of mirrors.

"This must be Narcissus' room," she snorts.

She walks up to a mirror and admires her reflection.

Suddenly, her whole body shudders, and she nearly falls to the floor. When she stands upright and looks in the mirror again, her eyes widen.

"What have I done?" she whimpers. Allison replays all of the deaths in her head, unable to believe she committed the crimes. Disbelief clouds her emotions. "How did this happen? Why did it happen?"

A face she doesn't recognize appears in the mirror behind her.

She tries to move, but her body won't respond.

"Who are you?" she asks, her voice shaking. "Why did I kill so many of my people? What did you do to me?"

"You know me, Allison," the person replies. "It's Malum. And I was just having a little fun, no harm in that."

Allison can't think about his words, though, because in one second, her hand is at her own throat. The sword is pressing into her neck.

"Time to wake up," the person says to her with a smile.

Her hand tightens around the weapon and in an instant, Allison slashes her own throat.

_TEEN WOLF_

Allison sits up, gasping for air as she does. Her eyes are wide as she takes in the Hale house's partially burned walls. She makes eye contact with Scott who rushes over to her and wraps her in a hug.

"What the hell was all of that?" Lydia asks from beside Stiles.

The boy, still in his werewolf costume shakes his head, "It was one super screwed up nightmare."

Laughter fills the room as the rest of the group sits up, Erica and Derek by each other, Camilla and Isaac holding hands tightly, and Jackson cradling Nolan in his lap.

"That was unbelievably fun," Malum says as it appears in the room. "Didn't you all have a great damn time? Jackson, you looked fantastic in those robes."

Jackson growls and tightens his grip around Nolan.

"In all honesty," Stiles says, "you've really over stayed your welcome."

"And it's time for you to get out of Paige's body," Derek says through clenched teeth.

The Root frowns, "Why do you have to ruin my fun? I had a great time and you poor sports are so killing my buzz."

"We really need to get him to a hospital," Jackson says sternly, not looking at The Root but only at Derek.

"Camilla ought to go too," Isaac says, "those ropes messed up her wrists."

The girl in question shakes her head, "I'm fine."

"You're going," Isaac insists. "If your dad sees them he's going to come for me crossbows a-blazing."

"Hello!" Malum says, grabbing everyone's attention. "Are you dummies not getting this? I just put you all into a mass dream where you were one by one murdered. Aren't you the tiniest bit worried that I'll try and make this dream a reality?"

"Why not do it now?" Scott asks. "If you're so freaking powerful, just end it now."

The boy's eyes begin to glow red and The Root laughs it off, "Look at the balls Teen Wolf suddenly grew. Don't you little killjoys worry… I'll end it soon. I can get you fools wherever and whenever I want. The second you think you're safe, I'll prove to you just how not safe you really are."

There's a snapping sound and then Malum is gone.

"Ow," Nolan groans from where he lays in Jackson's lap.

Getting his arms underneath the other boy, Jackson lifts him up and begins carrying him up the stairs, and out to the car.

Everyone else slowly follows him.

Anger rolls off of Jackson, and he yells, "Stilinski, you're driving!"

"Guess, I should be—"

"NOW!" Jackson yells, stopping Stiles from finishing his sentence. Instead the boy runs out after Jackson.

Lydia walks over to Allison, pulling off her blonde wig in the process, "Thanks for killing me, always knew I could count on you."

Scott, who has his arm around the brunette, pulls Allison tighter to him as the girl begins to say, "Lydia I had no idea what I was doing, I…"

"It was a joke. You'd never hurt me, I know that."

Allison nods and then follows Lydia and Scott out of the house and to her car. She smiles lightly at Camilla who smiles back and takes Isaac's hand, following her cousin out of the house. Derek and Erica are the only ones left in the house.

Erica yanks hard on the cape around her neck and manages to get it off, dropping it to the floor, "This whole thing is totally fucked."

"I'd say," Derek agrees. "Hopefully that Nolan kid will be alright, because we're going to need him."

Erica shakes her head, "For what?"

"So far, he's been the only one to give us any solid information. Scott's boss only told us legends, but what Nolan told us was something set in fact. We're going to need him to help us figure out how to kick Malum's shape-shifting ass."

Erica nods and the two begin to exit the house, "Come on, hubby," she teases.

Derek smiles at her, and she smiles back with a bit of seduction in her eyes that makes Derek want to kiss her just like in the dream.

Before he can make a move, she turns away and walks out the door.

_TEEN WOLF_


	7. Friday Night Bites (3x19)

Erica dunks her spoon into her glass of chocolate milk and stirs it.

Her father grabs a piece of toast and takes a bite out of it. The newspaper makes a noise as he flips the page.

"Are you going to come join us at the table for breakfast, sweetheart?" her mother asks, sipping a cup of coffee. Erica turns to her parents and smiles faintly.

"I'm not that hungry but I'll sit," she tells them, grabbing her glass and moving to the table.

Her parents smile at her and continue eating their breakfast.

"We're so glad you're back honey," Erica's mom tells her. "We missed you so much."

Erica's father puts down his newspaper and says, "We really did, princess."

"I missed you guys too," she says sincerely.

"We were so worried you had had a seizure somewhere and you were all alone. I know you had started to grow out of them, but you never know. We were lost without our baby," Erica's mother adds, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"Well, I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere," Erica promised. "Except for school… which I should probably leave for now. I'll see you guys later."

She stands up and kisses both of them on the cheek.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive, honey?" her father asks as she swings her backpack on her shoulder.

"I'm sure, thanks, Dad."

The man smiles at her and turns back to his newspaper. Erica grabs her keys from the counter and heads out the door to her Impala.

When she steps into the car she sighs happily.

"I missed you, Phillip," she says to the car.

She starts the engine and dials a number as she pulls out of her driveway.

"Hey, you on your way?" Isaac's voice says on the other line when he picks up.

"Yep, just left," she says.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you. How's it going with your parents?"

"Pretty good, surprisingly. I just told them some bullshit lie about how I was stressed and Boyd was having trouble at home so we just decided to leave for a while. They were a little upset, but mostly glad I was home," Erica tells him.

"That's good. You still mad at Derek?"

Erica replays their argument in his head: he had been ignoring her, so she confronted him and he told her he thought it was time she move back in with her parents. No explanation. He basically kicked her out.

"Yeah, but not as mad as I was. I'm glad I get to be with my parents again, I didn't realize how much I missed them. But I'm still pissed he just decided to throw me out just because he can't deal with his own damn feelings," Erica rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I getcha. Maybe it's good you two are apart for a while, so you can both clear your heads and figure things out," Isaac advises.

Erica laughs, "You sound like we're a couple."

"Well, everyone can tell there's something there. Even Malum made you a couple in that mass dream," Isaac explains.

"Well, everyone but Derek thinks we could be together apparently," Erica mutters.

"Cut him some slack, the last girl he really liked turned out to be a monster, so he's probably scared or something…"

"Whatever," Erica says, finishing the topic. "I'm almost there so be ready. I'm not coming inside."

"I am, don't worry," Isaac tells her, smirking.

"Good, see ya in a minute."

Erica hangs up the phone and within seconds she pulls into the loft's parking lot.

_TEEN WOLF_

The boys file into the locker room one after another. They're all drenched in sweat after a grueling morning practice.

Scott and Stiles move over to their lockers and Scott peels off his practice jersey, tossing it into the hamper to the left of the locker. Jackson and Danny come in, moving over to their lockers, doing the same.

Danny grabs his shower gel and says, "Great work out there Leroy."

Greenberg smiles and begins to say thanks when the coach interrupts him.

"You ladies better have your A-game on tonight," Coach Finstock screams at the lacrosse players. "The Waterdale Warthogs may have a ridiculous name but last year they were our toughest competition!"

"Okay we get it," Stiles says to Scott, "we're a bunch of girls who need to be ready to straddle some hogs."

"What was the Stilinksi?" Coach shouts, drawing attention to the boy.

Stiles looks around and sees Jackson shirtless and chuckling, he then begins to stutter, "I, uh, was just um… uh… like… we're gonna win tonight, coach!"

"That's what I thought," Finstock replies with a scowl, "now hit the showers, you all smell like mediocrity."

_TEEN WOLF_

"Just ask him," Allison insists, "it's not like he's going to say no."

Camilla quickly rolls her eyes, "Armpit, this isn't me asking him to go play mini-golf, I'm asking him to come for dinner with our fathers… the big men with lots of guns and a thirst for werewolf blood. If you were him would you want to come?"

"Just. Ask."

Isaac enters the room just as the bell rings and then takes his seat beside Lydia, throwing a quick smile in Camilla's direction. The girl feels herself blush and she quickly averts her eyes to the cover of her chemistry textbook.

"Alright class," Mrs. Trumbolt smiles, pulling up the sleeves of her maroon sweater. "Today we're doing something your old teacher, Mr. Harris, had in his notes. Around the World Lab, we'll be going counter clockwise and doing one step of the lab with a new partner each time. Let's get right into it, shall we?"

"Looks like you'll be stuck with him," Allison smiles, "he's your first partner."

Just then Allison gets up and moves over to a short boy with curly hair and Isaac moves over to where Camilla sits.

He smiles at her as he sets his notebook down on the desk and begins to smack his pencil against it.

"So what were you guys talking about?" he asks casually.

The dark haired girl sighs and opens the vial of sodium chloride, "My dad sort of wants you to come for dinner tonight. Which is totally ridiculous, he's never been like this with any of my other… whatevers, and trust me I understand if you don't want to come because he is a hunter and everything so, I mean I can just tell him you—"

"I'd love to," Isaac beams.

"Argent family dinners aren't so bad," Scott says from behind the couple, "I mean, yeah there's a lot of hostility in the room but that usually disappears before dessert."

Suddenly Camilla perks up, "Why don't you join us then? I'm sure Armpit would love to have you."

Allison whips her head around to stare at her cousin and at Scott, "You are a thing of evil," the brunette girl glares. "Scott, you do not have to come."

"It's no problem," the boy smiles, "what's one more family gathering? Just, uh, make sure your dad has the cross bow locked up."

Out of the blue everyone hears a ding and then Mrs. Trumbolt's voice saying, "Switch!"

Isaac smiles once again before getting up and moving to the curly haired boy, as Stiles comes and sits down beside Camilla, "You coming to the game tonight?"

Across the room sit Jackson and Lydia, both are silent and intently working on their portion of the lab.

"Are we ever going to talk about the giant homosexual elephant in the room?" Lydia asks as she adds three drops of dye into the beaker that sits between them, changing the liquid from clear to yellow.

Jackson raises an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Lydia chuckles, "Camilla pointed it out last week at the dance. You get sent away to England for school and then you're back and you've been kicked out, I've pieced it together and it dawned on me that maybe you're back because you took the phrase 'you suck' to a whole new level."

"Lydia, look it's not what you think I just –"

"How long have you been fooling around with Nolan?" Lydia asks, cutting Jackson's protests off.

"We aren't."

Lydia looks down at the beaker and watches as it begins to fizzle due to something she had just added, "You know, I don't understand how you can just all of a sudden be into boys. We were together for three years and then you start driving stick… didn't you love me?"

Jackson sighs, "Of course I did, but I realized that we were more of a superficial couple than anything. I treated you like crap and you let me; you acted like an idiot and I let you. We were the jock and the it-girl; that was us. I did love you, Lydia, I did, but we weren't good for each other. You need someone who you don't have to act dumb for and I need someone who won't put up with my abuse because they're 'in love' with me."

"I just… we had sex; we were together in every way. How can that just mean nothing now?"

"It still means something," Jackson replies, putting his hand on her knee, "but you and I aren't the same people we were. We have to move on and if I move on with a guy that's just that, it doesn't make you any less perfect than you are – but now you need to find someone who's going to love you for you and not the person you turn yourself into for them."

Mrs. Trumbolt rings the bell again and Jackson gathers his things and moves over to Camilla as Lydia is greeted by a short girl with glasses. The strawberry blonde girl shakes her head and turns to face the girl before saying, "Would you hand me the second beaker please?"

_TEEN WOLF_

Camilla finishes placing silverware around the dining room table and sighs. She navigates through a bunch of boxes and looks over herself in the mirror.

Allison walks up behind her with a big bowl of salad in her hands.

"Relax, Camilla. You look amazing," Allison tells her cousin. "Everything's going to go fine, I've done this before."

Camilla turns away from her reflection and says, "Yeah but not with my father. He eats my boyfriends alive. Not that Isaac is my boyfriend or anything… but you know what I mean."

"He still hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend yet?"

"No…"

"Well, it hasn't been that long. And things have been kinda crazy lately. But don't worry, he likes you. A lot. Everyone can see it, trust me."

Camilla smiles from her cousin's reassuring words and moves to the kitchen to carry more things to the table.

Scott and Isaac arrive within minutes and soon enough, everyone is sitting at the table, eating.

"So, Isaac," Ron asks, "You're a werewolf?"

"Dad!" Camilla exclaims.

Chris laughs, "Ron, cool it. I think we all know who the werewolves are here."

"Just making conversation," the other man says, shrugging. He takes a bite of his steak and moans, "This is some nice steak."

"My, uh, grandma has a recipe for an amazing mushroom sauté. I haven't had it in a while, but I ate it all the time when I was a kid," Isaac says.

"I love mushrooms," Ron tells him, eyeing him curiously.

"I remember the recipe, so maybe after dinner I could write it down for you. It'll change your life," Isaac says to him.

"I would love that," Ron says, his eyes going wide from excitement.

Camilla doesn't look up from her plate, embarrassed and nervous. Isaac, who sits next to her reaches under the table and squeezes her knee.

She looks up at him and he smiles at her, and in a flash, her worries melt away and her heart pounds.

Ron's phone starts to ring, causing the two to come back to reality.

Ron finishes chewing and glances at the screen before answering, "Hey, Susan."

"Who's Susan?" Allison mouths to Camilla.

"No idea," she mouths back.

Everyone looks at Ron curiously as he chats with the mysterious Susan. When he hangs up, he notices everyone's eyes are on him.

"What? Can't a man have a conversation?"

"Who's Susan?" Camilla asks.

"A woman your dad met at the singles mixer last week. They really hit it off," Chris says, smiling at his brother.

Camilla frowns, waiting for her dad to comment.

"Yeah. I met Susan last week. She wants to go out again this weekend," Ron says, not being able to meet his daughter's eyes.

An awkward silence fills the room.

Scott interrupts when he says, "I hate to leave so early, but I have to head to the school for my lacrosse game. We've got to be there early to warm up."

"I'll walk you out," Allison says, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"Thanks for having me, Chris and Ron. Dinner was amazing. See you guys some other time," Scott says smiling and waving goodbye.

Chris smiles and nods and Ron waves.

The two leave, and another silence fills the room.

"Isaac, I thought you played lacrosse?" Chris asks.

"I did," he answers. "But this year I decided to quit. My heart wasn't really in it anymore."

"Do you play any other sports?" Ron asks.

"No sir."

"Do you have a job?"

"No sir."

Ron nods, taking in the information. Camilla doesn't say a word, but she angrily finishes her plate with a frustrated look on her face.

Ron leans back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head, "That was delicious. Camilla, when you're done will you clear the table?"

The brunette doesn't answer, but scoots her chair back and throws down her napkin.

She grabs the empty plates and heads into the kitchen.

"What's her problem?" Ron asks, using his tongue to pick food out of his teeth.

"I think she's upset about Susan," Chris tells his brother.

Ron sighs, "I knew she would be. I didn't want to tell her about her unless things got more serious."

"Oh, sorry," Chris says. "I didn't know."

"It's alright. She'll be fine, you just gotta let her blow off some steam and she'll be over it."

The three guys sit in silence and Allison comes back into the room.

"Are you going to the game tonight, Allison?" her father asks.

"I was planning on it," she answers.

He nods, "Alright, just wondering. Are you coming home after?"

"Probably. We might go out for a little after, though."

Before Chris can speak, Camilla storms back into the room and grabs the glasses and other dishes from the table and leaves.

Isaac jumps up, "I'm going to go help her."

In the kitchen, Camilla slams dishes around and cleans up.

"Hey," Isaac says with a small smile.

Camilla jumps, not knowing he had come in.

"Hey, sorry, about that. He's always been like that," she says, turning back to the dishes.

"It's fine," he says, moving closer to her. "You want some help?"

"You don't need to," she says.

"But I want to," he tells her, grabbing one of her arms gently. "What's wrong?"

Camilla stops cleaning and looks at him, "It's nothing, really. He just bugs me when he does that stuff."

"Camilla," Isaac says. "You can tell me anything. I want to know why you're upset."

The girl sighs and wipes her hand on her forehead.

"I don't understand why he's okay with dating so soon. My mother died a little less than a year ago! How can he want to date so soon?" She turns back to the dishes and begins slamming them around again.

"Hey, calm down," Isaac says, grabbing her arm again. "Just talk to me, don't take it out on the dishes."

Camilla laughs and stops. She turns towards him and says, "It just upsets me. I'm not ready for another woman in our lives. I don't understand how he is."

"He was only with her for one night," Isaac says calmly, running his fingers over Camilla's cheek. "It's one little date, he's not going to marry her the next day. He probably just misses being in the company of a woman. He needs to live again."

Camilla's eyes look right at Isaac's as she sighs, "I know. I know. It's just hard. I miss her so much."

Isaac wraps his arms around her, "I know you do. And he does too. You just have to let him do his own thing. He doesn't like you bringing home werewolves and you don't like that he's seeing women again. You both aren't happy with things, but at the end of the day you still love each other, right?"

"Yeah," Camilla says, relaxing into his embrace.

"So who cares about the little things? You both are doing what makes you happy, so it's okay. You still have each other, and those things aren't going to take away any of the love you have for each other."

"Why are you so amazing?" Camilla asks, pulling away to look in his eyes and grabbing his hands.

"Because I know an amazing girl who makes me want to be a better person," he tells her, squeezing her hands and smiling.

Camilla blushes and smiles back. Without a warning, Isaac leans in and kisses her.

Their hands migrate to each other's bodies as their lips move passionately. They don't break apart, and a hunger takes over.

For minutes, they continue kissing and feeling each other, until they pause to breathe.

They both laugh, their hearts pounding.

"We'd better start cleaning these dishes before someone comes in here and catches us," Camilla says, a bit breathless.

"Yeah, we'd better," Isaac replies, his eyes locked on Camilla's.

Within seconds their mouths are together again, that same fierceness in their lips.

Camilla grabs at Isaac's shirt, wanting nothing more than to tug it up and over his head. Isaac's hands wander all over Camilla's body, groping every wonderful curve.

All of a sudden the door to the kitchen opens, forcing the two to break apart.

Allison comes to a halt, "Oh, God. I'm sorry, I—"

"Sorry," Camilla breathes, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"No I'll just… go…" Allison says, as she walks right back out the door.

When she's gone the two laugh.

"Oops," Camilla smiles.

_TEEN WOLF_

A little bit later on, Isaac and Camilla make their way to Derek's loft after Isaac receives a message from Derek himself.

"What do you think his plan is?" Camilla asks, riding in the passenger seat.

"I honestly have no idea," Isaac shrugs as he pulls into the loft's parking lot.

They make their way up and walk in to the living room where Derek sits, waiting.

"Hey man, so what's the plan?" Isaac says. He chuckles and adds, "That rhymed."

Camilla smiles and shakes her head and Derek narrows his eyes.

"This isn't time for rhymes, Isaac. We're breaking the bond tonight."

"Yeah, I know, that's what your text said. So how do you suggest this goes down?" Isaac asks seriously.

"We need to break into the graveyard and burn Gerard's body. And whatever is tying Erica to The Root. Deaton says it should still be on the body," Derek tells him.

Camilla gulps at the mention of her dead grandfather, and Isaac reaches for her hand.

"Who is we? Because Scott, Stiles, and Jackson are all playing lacrosse right now," Isaac says.

"Well I don't want to wait until later and risk The Root figuring out what we're trying to do, so I guess you and I will go soon," Derek says, thinking.

"What about Erica? Shouldn't she be with us, just to see if it works? To see if she's okay after?" Isaac asks.

Derek sighs, "Yeah. But I don't know if The Root can tell where she is or anything. I don't want him coming after us."

"Yeah, you're right," Isaac says, trying to think of another way.

"I can help," Camilla says. "I know I'm no badass wolf like you guys, but I know how to dig. That way one of you can be with Erica, watching her. Plus, Gerard's my grandfather, I would kinda like to be there for his impromptu cremation…"

Derek looks at the girl and ponders her suggestion.

"That doesn't sound like a terrible idea," Isaac says. "We could go before halftime, and nobody would suspect a thing. And you can just bring Erica here and watch her until we get back."

Derek thinks for a moment and says, "Okay. But don't screw it up."

_TEEN WOLF_

Scott spins around one of Waterdale's players and launches the small rubber ball into the net. The crowd goes wild and several of Scott's teammates come and pat him on the back. Sooner than he'd realized, Scott and the team are back in action.

The ball is tossed from Greenberg's lacrosse stick and to Stiles just as Greenberg is tackled to the ground, grass sliding up and getting caked into his jersey. Stiles turns on his heel and begins running, throwing the ball to Jackson who is quick to throw it to Ethan. Without a second thought Ethan throws the ball as hard as he can into the net, giving Beacon Hills another point.

Whistles are being blown as the other team calls a time out. The team hurries over to the bench, shedding their helmets and taking the waters being tossed at them like they're a life preserver.

Up in the stands, amongst the cheers and clapping, Camilla shifts uncomfortably in her seat, "Can we go now?" she asks Isaac.

"You don't have to do this," Allison tells her, tugging on the end of her blue scarf. "Isaac can easily call Derek and they can go and… do what they need to do."

"Do what they need to do? Why don't you just say dig up and burn granddaddy?"

"Because I'm not tactless," Allison replies, crossing her arms over her chest. She locks eyes with Scott who smiles at her briefly and then looks back at Finstock and nods his head.

Nolan leans around Lydia and says to Isaac, "Once you've dug him up you have to find whatever personal item of Erica's was used and burn that separately. Otherwise the whole thing is a wash."

"And try not to get covered in grave dirt," Lydia remarks, "if two teens run off for a few minutes most people will think they've just gone to make out or something. If you come back all dirty all these parents and kids will know something is off."

Isaac and Camilla nod their heads and then exchange a glance. He sees her brow furrow and wonders if they're really making a mistake.

"Ready?" the boy asks cautiously, wrapping his own scarf securely around his neck.

"As I'll ever be," Camilla responds, standing up and walking down the bleachers and toward his car. Isaac watches her and then turns to Allison.

"Maybe I should just call Derek and have him meet me there. This is beginning to seem like a bad idea," he says to the dark haired girl.

Allison shakes her head, "No, Camilla wants to do this, maybe even needs to, if you try and stop her you'll just be doing more harm than good."

"Besides," Lydia says, "Gerard may have been her grandpa, but he wasn't exactly a big part in any of his grandkids' lives. It'll be hard for her, but she'll get over it."

"Or she'll have nightmares about him for the rest of her life," Nolan says with a smile. "Either way, good luck."

Isaac nods his head, his better judgment telling him that he ought to call Derek and stop Camilla from having to dig up her grandfather. But he doesn't and instead gets into the car with Camilla and stays quiet as they drive to the cemetery.

_ TEEN WOLF _

Back at the loft, Erica and Derek walk in uneasily. The awkward tension is thick.

"Make yourself comfortable," Derek mumbles, making his way to the kitchen to grab a water.

When he returns to the living room, he moves towards Erica to hand her one. Their fingers brush briefly and they look at each other for a millisecond before quickly looking away.

Derek's phone buzzes and he reads the incoming text.

"That's Isaac," he says. "They just got to the cemetery."

"So it begins," Erica says.

At the cemetery, Isaac and Camilla step out of the car. They try and shield themselves from the cold and walk close together.

"You know where we're going?" Isaac asks.

"Yeah, I remember," Camilla nods, her eyes full of sorrow.

Isaac grabs her hand and locks their fingers together.

"I'm here for you. If you need to stop, just tell me. I know this is hard on you…"

Camilla smiles and leans in for a peck.

"I'll be fine. I'm strong," she tells him, resting her head on his shoulder as they walk closer to the grave.

In Isaac's other hand, he carries two shovels for them.

"I know you are, babe," he responds.

In a few minutes they stop and Camilla shines a flashlight on the grave in front of them.

"Here he is," she says quietly.

"You ready?" Isaac asks, handing her one of the shovels.

Camilla looks up at the dark sky before she answers, "Let's do it." She grabs the shovel from his hand and exhales loudly.

"Who would've thought I meet my girlfriend's dad and then dig up her dead grandfather all in one night?" Isaac asks rhetorically before shoving his shovel into the dirt.

Camilla is about to strike the ground but stops, "Girlfriend?"

Isaac stops and looks up, a smile on his face.

"Are you okay with that?"

Camilla smiles and walks over to kiss him, "Honestly, it's just what I needed." She turns back to her spot and hits the ground hard with her shovel, and their digging begins.

A little over an hour later, and a few pieces of clothing less, the Isaac strikes something hard.

"We've struck gold, baby," he says, wiping sweat and dirt from his face.

Camilla fans herself and shrugs of her t-shirt, leaving her in just a camisole.

"Let's do this," she says.

Together, they get the last of the dirt off of the coffin. Isaac boosts Camilla out of the hole and turns to open the lid.

Camilla looks away before Gerard's body comes into view, and Isaac covers his nose, preparing for a possible nasty smell.

"Is it bad?" Camilla asks, still not being able to look. Isaac boosts himself from the hole and comes up next to her.

"You don't need to watch. I can burn him by myself if you want to go back to the car," he tells her.

She shakes her head, "No. I need to do this."

She walks up to the edge and looks down. Gerard's body has begun to decompose, and Camilla shudders.

Isaac comes up to her, and besides them both being sweaty, he puts his arm around her.

"You're amazing for doing this, you know?" he tells her, earning him a smile.

She turns away and grabs the lighter fluid and the book of matches they purchased before going to the lacrosse game.

"Did you get the thing that ties Erica to The Root?" she asks.

"No, I couldn't see anything in there. I'll grab the flashlight and head back down," Isaac answers.

When he gets the light, he carefully jumps back down and begins the search.

"Those aren't the clothes he died in, but we already checked those, seeing if he left a… suicide note, I guess. But there was nothing, so it might be gripped in his hand or something," Camilla says.

Isaac shakes his head and breathes deeply. He checks both hands and comes up with nothing.

"What if The Root took it with him?" he asks.

Camilla thinks for a second, not wanting to accept defeat.

"Okay, you're going to hate me for this…" she says to her boyfriend.

Isaac looks up at her, "That's impossible. Just tell me."

Camilla sighs, "Well, thinking back to all the crime shows and horror movies I've seen, there have sometimes been dead bodies with things in their um….. mouths…."

Isaac's eyes widen as he understands what Camilla is suggesting.

"Do you hate me?" Camilla asks worriedly.

"Of course not," Isaac says. "I hate what I'm about to do." Isaac gathers his courage and reaches into the coffin where the old man lies. He kneels down and puts the flashlight in his mouth.

His work is quick as he opens the deceased man's mouth with a little difficulty. He instantly notices what looks like a piece of paper and pulls it out.

He hands it up to Camilla and pulls himself out of the grave. When he's on his feet, he paces around, shaking is hands and gagging.

"I can't believe I just did that," he says. "I'm gonna pass out."

Camilla reluctantly opens the mysterious piece of paper only to discover it's a picture rather than a note.

"Babe," she says when she recognizes the face. "You did it. This is a picture of Erica. This is what we needed!"

Isaac stops pacing, and a look of relief washes over his face. Camilla throws her arms around him and kisses him.

"Now the hard part's over," she tells him. "We just need to cremate him, burn the picture, and dump the dirt right back on that bastard."

"You have such a way with words," Isaac coos jokingly, pecking Camilla on her lips.

Within ten minutes, their tasks are done and they are walking hand in hand back to the car.

"Let's go back to the loft to check on Erica and get cleaned up," Isaac says. "Then we can probably hang out there for the rest of the night."

"That sounds good," Camilla says. "But I should probably stop back at the game, just to make sure nobody freaks about us being gone for so long."

"Alright," Isaac says, kissing the top of his girlfriend's head. "You should probably send everyone a quick text now, though, too."

Camilla nods and pulls out her phone.

At the loft, Derek is freaking out, replaying the last ten minutes in his head.

Erica sits on the couch and Derek on a chair, both watching Family Feud, trying to make the time go by faster.

Derek glances over at Erica and nearly jumps when he notices her nose bleeding.

"Erica, your nose is bleeding," he tells her. The blonde girl's hand shoots to her face, touching the blood.

"Shit," she says. "I'll be in the bathroom."

The girl stands up and walks away. Derek watches her hips sway back and forth, a bit of worry in the back of his mind.

He waits about five minutes, and Erica doesn't return. He stands up to go check on her, and makes his way to the bathroom.

The door is open just a crack, and he can see the light is on.

He knocks, "Erica? You okay?"

He doesn't hear an answer so he pushes open the door, not sure what to expect.

The light floods into the dark hallway he stands in, and Derek gets a better view of the room.

Erica lies on the floor, unconscious.

Blood covers the sink and is in drops on the floor. The blood from her nose isn't the only source, though.

Derek rushes to Erica's side and examines her closer. Blood soaks through her shirt, coming from her abdomen. He grabs her into his arms and shakes her gently.

"Erica, wake up!" he yells. He pulls up her shirt and sees the Resurrection Triquetra carved into her body.

"What the hell?" Derek says out loud. Worry and anger flow through him as he picks her up and carries her to the kitchen. He sets her on the table and gets a washcloth wet, placing it on her face.

He dials Deaton, but he doesn't get an answer. He leaves a frantic message, explaining the situation.

He hangs up the phone and slams it down in anger.

He paces the floor, not knowing what to do.

Back in the present, Derek still paces the floor, waiting for a response.

His phone buzzes and he expects it to be Deaton, but when he looks at the screen, he sees it's Camilla.

Her message says that they successfully burned the body and a picture of Erica, which was what they think The Root used to bring her back.

Derek is relieved. He looks back at Erica, who still lies unconscious. He dials Deaton again, and this time he gets a response.

"Sorry, Derek, I was at a banquet. I didn't get a chance to listen to your voicemail, what do you need?" asks the man on the other line.

"It's Erica. We broke the bond, well, we think we did. I don't know for sure. But she's not conscious. She got a bloody nose and the next thing I know the Resurrection symbol is carved into her. What the hell is going on?" Derek asks angrily.

"I'm not entirely sure, I've never known of anyone who actually broke the bond. It seems to me this is her body's way of separating itself from The Root. The Triquetra is carved into her now because she is being brought back, but with full control of her body."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Just keep an eye on her. Keep her temperature stable and try to stop the bleeding," Deaton tells him calmly. "I'll call you back in a bit, I have to go now. If you really need me, call again."

"Okay," Derek says before hanging up. He closes his eyes and runs his hands through his hair.

"Derek?" Erica says in a croaky voice from behind him.

Derek whirls around and quickly moves to her side.

"Erica? Are you okay?"

"I think so. Why the hell am I covered in blood? It was just a bloody nose," she says, confused.

"It was until you passed out in the bathroom with the Resurrection Triquetra carved into your stomach," he tells her.

"What?" she asks, bewildered. She moves slowly, but she reaches her hand to the hem of her shirt and pulls it up, revealing her stomach.

"Derek… there's nothing here," she says. And she's right. Where Derek saw the symbol is now clean, unmarked flesh.

Derek backs up, confused.

Isaac and Camilla walk in at this time, covered in dirt.

"Erica what the hell?" Isaac asks rushing to her side.

"Yeah, we have no idea," the blonde says truthfully.

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia and Nolan watch as the game rages on, Beacon Hills is up by three and doesn't seem to be losing any steam.

"Back in Illinois," Nolan begins, "we had Friday night football. There wasn't a lacrosse team or any mention of this game… why is it so popular here?"

Lydia shrugs, "Beats me, but there's something satisfying about watching Jackson get tackled that I can't quite explain."

"You guys not getting back together?" Nolan asks casually, zipping his coat up further.

"It doesn't look like it," the girl replies, "although I'm sure you're not too torn up about that."

Nolan eyebrows rise, "What makes you think that?"

"Don't play coy with me, Nolan. Only a blind man wouldn't be able to tell that there's something between you two."

"Lydia I would never…"

"It's okay though," Lydia smiles, "I'm over it. Really over it this time, I've got my eyes on someone else."

Just as the words leave her mouth, Stiles is taken to the ground by one of Waterdale's attackers, for a minute all you can see are the blue and yellow colors of the particular Warthogs' jersey. There's an audible gasp from the crowd as it happens.

"Oh my god," Nolan exclaims.

"He'll be fine, Stiles tends to spend most games on the ground anyway."

Allison comes back to the stands then with two hot chocolates in red solo cups in her hands; she gives one to Lydia and sits, asking, "That line was like purgatory. What did I miss?"

"Stiles was just pummeled by one of the Warthogs," Lydia replies.

Allison chuckles and takes a sip of her steaming hot cocoa when Camilla appears and comes up to the stands, her gray and black plaid pea coat moving perfectly in time with her body. As the girl sits she removes the matching beanie and then says, "Grandpa is roasted."

"Great visual," Nolan says flatly, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"So did it work?" Lydia asks quickly.

Camilla shrugs, "I think so, I mean we burned the personal item and then we burned Gerard… And we saw Erica… for some reason the Resurrection Triquetra carved itself into her body. Derek talked to Deaton and he says it probably her body taking back all of the control. Does that mean it worked?"

"That's what all the books say," Nolan answers.

"Are you alright?" Allison asks her cousin, locking eyes with her.

Camilla swallows hard and turns to face the field, "I'm okay. Besides the horrendous smell of burning old man flesh that I will never be able to forget, I'm just fine."

"You're sure?" Allison persists.

"Yes, Armpit, I'm one hundred percent positive. It's not like Gerard was grandfather of the year or anything, all he ever really was to me was a paycheck on my birthday. It's not like I've got fond memories of him teaching me how to ride a bike or how to play tennis. He's just check man to me."

There's a ball of tension that sits with the four teens for a minute and as Stiles scores another point the kids hear his father scream, "That's my boy!" from the front row of bleachers. Lydia's face pulls into a smile as she watches Stiles wave at his dad and then get back into the game.

"Where's Isaac?" Allison asks, hoping to break the tension.

"He stayed at Derek's to be with Erica. I figured I might as well come back so nobody gets suspicious," Camilla answers.

Jackson hurls the ball to Stiles who runs around number seven, Walcott, and gets the ball to Scott. From the stands, the crowd watches as Ethan is tackled trying to block one of the attackers from getting to Scott who is intent on winning the game.

With only seconds left in the game Scott catches the ball and then hops over two of Waterdale's attackers, all the while chucking the ball into the net. As the crowd screams the refs call the game and Beacon Hills reigns victorious.

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek and Erica sit in Derek's Camaro later that night as he drives her back to her house.

"Are you sure all the blood is off? The last thing I need is for my parent's to freak out about me coming home covered in blood," Erica asks Derek while checking herself out in the mirror.

"You're perfect," Derek says before he realizes what he is saying. Erica stops finger-combing her hair and freezes.

Derek's jaw clenches and he tries to pretend he didn't just say that as he pulls up along the curb in front of her house.

"Thanks for, um, being here for me tonight. I'm sure I freaked you out," Erica says.

"Well, Deaton and Nolan say everything worked, so hopefully that's true…"

Erica and nods and opens the door.

"Give me a thumbs up from your bedroom window if everything's ok," Derek tells her before she shuts the door.

He watches her hurry to the front door and walk in.

Inside, Erica leans against the wall in her front entrance. She hates herself for wanting Derek so bad, when he obviously didn't want anything from her.

She shakes her head and walks into the living room, where she can hear the TV on.

When she walks in, her father looks up from his chair at her and smiles.

"Hey, dad. Sorry it's late. The lacrosse game just got done and I wanted to congratulate the guys quick," she lies.

"That's okay, princess," he tells her, still looking at her.

"Where's mom?" she asks.

"In the kitchen," he says in a weird voice.

"Are you okay? You're not mad I'm home late are you?" Her hand automatically flicks to her hair, where there had been blood before. Her blood soaked shirt was left at Derek's and she borrowed one of Isaac's but it was covered by her coat.

"No I'm not mad," he says standing up. Erica can only see his back as he stands, and doesn't turn to face her. "But no, I'm not okay."

"What do you—" she begins, only to be cut off at the sight of her father when he turns around.

Stab wounds cover his chest and stomach, blood soaking his clothes much like her shirt earlier.

Erica gasps, "Dad? What the hell happened? Are you okay? What's going on?"

Her father smiles and puts his hands on his hips.

"No, Erica, your father is not okay. And neither is your mother, for that matter."

"I don't understand…" she says.

"Oh silly girl. If you hadn't broken the bond, you would've recognized me."

Erica's eyes widen and her heart pounds. "Malum."

"Good job, princess," The Root responds.

Tears flood from Erica's eyes, "What did you do to my parents?"

"Isn't it obvious? I killed them," The Root tells her, smiling.

"W-why?" she asks, sobbing. Her knees give way and she lands on the floor, broken.

"Well, you were taken away from me, so I took something away from you. Simple. Easy peasy. You don't pull one over on The Root and get away with it."

Anger rips through Erica and she stands up, "I'll kill you!"

She growls and extracts her claws.

"No you won't," The Root says. In an instant he snaps and disappears before Erica can make a move.

Erica stands still for a moment, unsure of what to do. She remembers what Malum said about her mother and rushes to the kitchen.

On the floor, he mother lays, similar wounds marking her body.

Erica kneels next to her and sobs even harder.

"Mom…" she cries, grabbing her mother's cold hand.

She bows her head and screams, her body shuddering from the pain and sorrow. Tears spill from her eyes.

She remembers Derek is waiting for her signal in his car. She bends down and kisses her mother on the forehead, then gets up and makes her way out of the house, her knees wobbling.

When Derek sees her coming out, he is confused. When he gets a closer look, he sees the pain and tears on Erica's face and jumps out of the car to go to her.

He gets to her and she begins to collapse, but he catches her in his arms.

"Erica," he says with an abundance of worry. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Erica sobs louder and shakes, unable to speak. She sniffs and with all the strength she can muster she says, "They're dead. He killed them."

Her body can't support itself any longer, and Derek is the only thing holding her up.

He scoops her up and holds her to him.

"Erica, what do you mean?"

Through her sobs she manages to say, "The Root killed my parents."

_TEEN WOLF_


	8. Cold As Ice (3x20)

"It doesn't really matter how you do it," Coach Finstock says to his seventh period economics class, "on paper or electronically I don't care. Just make sure you have your economic growth chart ready to present by next Tuesday… now I assume you mongrels can divide into partners without my assistance, so do it and get to work."

Camilla turns herself around and looks into Isaac's green eyes, "What do you say? Want to be partners?"

"Hm, I'll have to think about it… yes," the boy replies with a smile.

"Great," the dark haired girl says, smiling back, she grabs her notebook from her desk and places it on to Isaac's. "So I was thinking we could just…"

Across the room sit Nolan and Jackson. Nolan writes the last of his notes into the purple notebook before looking up to see Jackson smiling at him.

The auburn haired boy sets his pen down, "What?"

"I was thinking we could be partners," the other boy says. "There's only two other people in this classroom who were possible candidates and since they've already teamed up… sort of looks like you and I are together by default."

Nolan sets his pen down and then shuts the notebook, "You aren't my only option, I could be partners with Kallie."

"Kallie's the girl with the long black hair, right? She looks like she's already got a partner."

Turning around, Nolan see that Kallie is contently writing something down while talking with another girl, he sighs and looks back at Jackson, "Looks like you're right. We're partners then, I guess."

"Not if you don't want to be, I just…"

"No, really," Nolan smiles, "I'm all for it. Do you want to work on it tonight? Get the whole thing out of the way?"

Jackson nods as the bell rings. The boy rips a piece of paper from out of his binder and quickly scribbles his phone number on it. "Text me and I'll give you my address. We can meet up and get it done tonight at around six if that works for you."

"Yeah, alright," the boy smiles, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. "I'll see you tonight."

_TEEN WOLF_

Later that day, Camilla grabs an orange marker and finishes up the writing on her and Isaac's poster for the econ project. When she stops writing, she caps the marker and stares intently at her work.

"It looks awesome, babe," Isaac tells her. Camilla doesn't look up, but smiles, still looking at the poster.

"You think so?" she asks, wrinkling her nose.

Isaac leans over and pulls his girlfriend onto his laugh, causing the brunette to laugh.

"I know so. Now we're done, so we can stop doing school work, and just hang out," Isaac says, nuzzling into Camilla's neck.

"Just hang out? That's it?" Camilla says with a teasing frown.

"Well, I mean, we could do a little bit of this…" Isaac says seductively, leaning in and placing his lips on Camilla's.

They break apart and Camilla laughs again "I think I can handle doing that."

"What about some of this?" Isaac leans in again and kisses her more forcefully, pulling her closer to him. Camilla drags her hands along Isaac's back, making him sigh happily at the feeling.

He moves her from his lap and begins to push her down onto the couch, when her phone starts buzzing on the table. The couple looks over at the phone and Isaac moans, "Can't you ignore it?"

"Probably not," Camilla answers. "Now get your hot bod off mine so I can see who it is."

Isaac groans but does as she says. Camilla's hand reaches out and sees the caller is Allison. She huffs but slides her thumb across the screen to answer her cousin's call.

"Hey, Allison, what's up?" she says, sitting up and pulling up a fallen bra strap. Isaac leans into Camilla and begins kissing her neck, making her squirm. "Stop!" she mouths, playfully pushing him away.

"Well, Scott, Lydia, Stiles, and I are going to the skate rink tonight and were wondering if you and Isaac wanted to go."

Camilla looks over at Isaac who shrugs, having been able to hear Allison with his keen senses.

"Yeah, sure, we'll come. What time?"

"Well, um, that's the thing. We probably won't go until later… until it's, you know, empty," Allison says.

"So we're breaking in?" Camilla asks. Isaac raises an eyebrow.

"I mean if you want to get all technical…" Allison banters.

Camilla shakes her head, "Well, we'll get back to you on that. We might've had enough of the breaking and entering for a while, with Gerard and the cemetery and everything. Plus, I'm not sure my dad will let me stay out too late." Isaac nods his head and Camilla shudders from remembrance of the burning of her grandfather.

"Alright, well just text me before like… 8, and I'll give you more details if you guys decide to come."

"Sounds good, Armpit," Camilla says before hanging up.

"Well, it's only five now," Isaac says, leaning his head in to kiss Camilla's neck again. "So we've got a while to decide."

Camilla closes her eyes and sets her phone back on the table, "So… true…"

The two are interrupted when Erica walks in and sits on the chair. When they notice her arrival they quickly pull apart.

"Sorry to be a cock block," Erica grimaces. "I'm just sick of sitting in my room all day. I need some human interaction."

"It's cool, we were just trying to pass the time. But I'm glad you came out, I've missed you these last couple days," Isaac tells the blonde.

"I know… It's just—"

"You don't need to explain anything," Isaac stops her. "You just do what you need to."

Erica smiles faintly and nods, "What is this, an econ project?" Her eyes move to the poster board on the table.

"Yeah, we figured we might as well get it done sooner rather than later," Camilla answers.

"Looks good," Erica tells her, causing Camilla to smile. "So what are you guys planning for the rest of the night?"

"Well, we got invited to break into a skate rink with Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia…" Isaac begins.

Erica chuckles a little and shakes her head.

"Yeah, but I think we're just going to hang out here tonight, if you don't mind the company," Camilla tells the girl.

"That would be nice, actually," Erica smiles.

Isaac looks over at Camilla and shakes his head in wonder, reaching over to take her hand in his. He was grateful she wanted to be there for Erica even though they weren't that close.

_TEEN WOLF_

At Scott's house, he sits with Stiles in his living room, playing Call of Duty.

When their game finishes, Stiles throws down his controller and raises his arms above his head, "I am a champion. It's like I've actually fought in wars before."

Scott rolls his eyes and sets his controller down. He stands up and stretches his legs. Just then, Melissa walks in with a file of papers in her hands.

"Hey, boys," she says with a small smile.

"Hey, Mom," Scott says at the same time Stiles nods and waves.

"You guys working hard or hardly working?" she asks as they follow her into the kitchen.

"Both?" Stiles answers unsurely.

Melissa shakes her head and sets her things down on the counter.

"What are those papers for?" Scott asks, eyeing the file.

Melissa turns away to grab a glass out of a cupboard and turns back to face the boys, with a serious look on her face.

"These are the papers that will make me Erica's legal guardian until she turns 18," she answers.

Scott and Stiles's eyes widen.

"W-what? How did this happen?" Scott asks, bewildered.

"Well, her parents were murdered, Scott. And with her history of "running away" CPS would've sent her to a foster home. So I visited her yesterday and brought up this suggestion. This way she can stay with her pack, the only family she's got left."

"And she said yes?" Stiles asks.

Melissa nods, "Yeah. I didn't know what to expect, but she was all for it. She thanked me a million times. I just feel so bad for the girl."

Everyone is silent for a moment, feeling empathy for their friend.

"That's really awesome of you, Mom," Scott says, moving next to her and placing his arm around her.

"Yeah, you really did a nice thing for her," Stiles adds.

"She needs you guys in her life, I wasn't about to let anyone take that away from her," Melissa says.

"So is she going to start staying here and everything?" Scott asks, his arm still around his mother.

Melissa shrugs, "I'm not going to make her. She agreed that some of her stuff from her house should come here, just so I don't seem like a neglectful guardian if anyone decides to investigate this situation. But, I know she'd probably feel better at the loft, so if she wants to stay there, she can."

"You really are amazing, Ms. McCall," Stiles says, earning a smile from Melissa.

_TEEN WOLF_

Arriving at the Whittemore house just after six o'clock that evening, Nolan is led to Jackson's room. Upon entering it, Jackson pulls the door shut behind him and watches as Nolan examines the place.

"Wow, this place is… pristine," Nolan says as he sets his Jansport backpack onto the neatly made bed.

"Yeah," Jackson agrees, "our housekeeper Vera does a pretty good job."

"You have a housekeeper? Why am I not surprised…"

Nolan slowly makes his way over to the floor length mirror and watches Jackson move over to his desk in the reflective glass. Jackson watches intently as his project partner explores the room ever so gently.

"Are you waiting for something? A body to drop from the ceiling?" Jackson jokes.

Turning around to face him, Nolan asks, "Why? Is a body going to drop from the ceiling?"

"Just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I'm some murderous hellhound."

Nolan sits down on the bed abruptly and then speaks, "But your eyes are blue… when I saw you on the full moon you had blue eyes, that means you've killed."

Jackson sighs, "Yeah, I have. Back when I was the Kanima… my master had me out and killing just about every night. I had no idea I was doing it either, not until Scott and Stiles locked me in the back of an armored truck and all but showed me proof."

"Are you telling me the truth? You aren't going to like… chain me up in your basement and go all _Silence of the Lambs_ on me, are you? Because I like my skin on me."

"I promise I won't go cutting your skin off."

Nolan let out a sigh, "Good to know."

"Got any other questions up your sleeve?" Jackson asks, scooting his chair closer to the bed.

"Yeah, do you know why Lydia has it in her head that there's something going on between us?"

Jackson laughs, "She's just… she's Lydia. That pretty much sums it up."

"It's crazy though, right… You're not like trying to seduce me or anything are you?"

"Not unless you want me to."

Nolan blushes and then says, "I hope you're right about her just being Lydia, because you and me is just… an insane thought for her to have. I wouldn't ever and you wouldn't ever… and you and Lydia are pretty much my only friends here and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that."

"You won't," Jackson insists. "We're your friends, Nolan. Me, Lydia, and everyone else – you're kind of part of this pack now. Even if you don't realize it."

"You're not at all like what people told me you were like."

"Let me guess, most people said I was Beacon Hills' signature asshole."

"Dick, asshole, jackass, douche bag… you don't have a whole lot of fans in this town," Nolan admits.

Jackson rolls his eyes, "Yet not one of the people telling you how awful I am has the guts to say it to my face. Stiles might be the only one… before I left I was sure that everyone loved me. But being back here I'm realizing that most of the people who claimed to be my friends were more into my looks and my Porsche than anything else."

"Why'd you come back?" Nolan asks suddenly, "I just mean, it seems sort of out of the blue that you're back. What could you have done in that school that was so bad you were expelled?"

"What do you think?"

"Drugs, alcohol, initiating a fight club…"

Again, Jackson laughs, "No, I just broke a rule that they had and I think the fact that I broke that rule with my roommate and two of his friends probably didn't help matters. All four of us got expelled for it and the rest is history."

"Did you vandalize something?" Nolan speculates.

"Not in so many words, but it's the past and honestly it helped me realize who I really am. So I guess I'm kind of thankful I was kicked out."

"Fair enough… and for the record," Nolan says as he unzips his backpack, "I don't think you're an asshole. You're actually a genuinely good guy."

Jackson flashes a grin and says, "Back at you."

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia spins in a perfect circle, her green skirt puffing out around her. Stiles watches in awe as he ties his laces and then skates out to her.

As the boy comes to her, Lydia grabs his hand and says, "Here's hoping this skate date does better than the last one."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asks as they begin to move around the empty rink.

Lydia throws some hair over her shoulder, "I mean that hopefully this time I won't see any dead people under the ice."

"That's a good hope to have… and did you say 'date'?"

Lydia's mouth turns up in a smile, "You caught that, huh?"

In the stands Scott and Allison laugh as they reminisce about their previous skating endeavor. Scott smiles as Allison impersonates him.

"'I'm a werewolf, Allison,'" she mocks, "'I think I can ice skate.'"

Scott laughs, "I really thought I would be able to!"

"The only thing you were able to do that night is bring me to the verge of tears from laughing so hard. Ha, remember when you fell and thought you'd broken your nose?"

Scott rolls his eyes, "That wasn't funny."

"You're a werewolf! You don't break," the dark haired girl says with a smile.

There's a moment of silence between them and then more laughing as the two share more memories of Scott's failure to skate.

"Maybe I'll be better this time," the boy beams.

"Only one way to find out," Allison says, grabbing his hand and pulling him up and out onto the rink. The two make it halfway around – Scott clutching Allison's hand for dear life – and once they catch up with Lydia and Stiles everything seems to be going smoothly.

"Is Camilla not coming?" Lydia asks after a moment.

"No, she and Isaac decided to stay in with Erica," Allison informs her friend.

"Oh that's niiiiiice!" Scott exclaims as he slips and falls hard onto the ice.

Stiles and Lydia burst into laughter as Allison bends down to help the boy up.

From further away, Stiles says, "Smooth moves, buddy!"

Covering her mouth with her hand, Allison asks, "Are you alright?"

"You're laughing at me," Scott insists as he feels a smile spread across his face.

The girl shakes her head, "No I'm not, I promise. It's just… you fell!"

Scott gives her a faux-angry look and then pulls her down beside him, "Now who's laughing?" he asks as he begins to laugh himself.

_TEEN WOLF_

Isaac shrugs on his jacket and bends down to kiss Camilla on the cheek.

"I'll be back. And when I return, you ladies will bow down to me and my splendor of food," Isaac says, imitating a king.

The girls shake their heads and wave him off. He winks at them, grabs his keys, and heads out the door.

"I'm really glad you guys stayed," Erica tells Camilla who had just begun cleaning up the pieces to the game of Monopoly they just played. "I really needed it."

"I'm glad we did too, it's nice getting to know you better. You're basically Isaac's sister, you're a very important part of his life," Camilla says.

"So are you," Erica replies with a smile. "I don't even know if you realize how much you mean to him. He really cares about you."

Camilla blushes and averts her eyes, "I hope so, because I really like him. I haven't really felt this way, well, ever. But I never thought I'd be able to feel happy again after my mom…" she stops, unable to say the word.

"Died?" Erica suggests. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

Camilla's face drains, and she says, "Oh my God, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I—"

"It's okay, really," Erica assures her. "We both know the same pain, although it sucks, it's kinda nice to have someone who knows how it feels. How long ago did your mother pass, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It was almost a year ago," Camilla tells the blonde. "Just a few days after my birthday."

"So that means your birthday is coming up then?"

"Yeah, it's this Saturday, actually. The first one without her… God, I don't know why I'm blubbering about this, you just lost both of your parents, I should be listening to you!"

"No really, I don't mind. The last few days has been everyone asking me if I'm okay, it's nice for the attention to be off of me for a while," Erica says gratefully.

"Yeah. Everyone means well but it's just like they keep bringing it up and making the cut so much deeper every time they do."

"Exactly," Erica agrees, and then sighs. "Who would've known we'd start bonding over the death of our parents?"

"It's kinda sick, huh?" Camilla says, shaking her head. "A lot of us have dead parents though… It's a common theme with our group of friends and it sucks. I'm just happy my mom died in a non-supernatural way."

"I think Isaac or you told me before," Erica ponders, trying to remember. "It was breast cancer right?"

"Yeah," the other girl answers. "She was struggling with it for a few years. And in her last days she was just so weak. We were expecting her to go at any minute, but I wasn't there when she did. And I regret that so much." The brunette wipes a tear from her eye, remembering.

Erica exhales a shaky breath, "Me too. I wish I could've been with them for just five more minutes. The last thing I told them was a lie. I said I was going to the lacrosse game, I kissed them on the cheek, and left." Tears begin to flow from the girl's eyes.

"That's the worst isn't it? When they're gone, you think of all the things you should've said. How much you love them, how much they mean to you… And now we don't get another chance." Camilla's tears fall heavier now.

The two girls sit in silence, thinking about their sorrow filled lives.

Within a minute, Derek walks in and out. He glances at the girls who try and hide their tears, but he notices. He doesn't say a word as he heads out the door, anger on his face and his fists clenched.

"Have you guys talked at all? I know Isaac said your relationship was complicated…" Camilla asks.

"Not much. He comes and checks on me every once in a while. But I don't know what to say, and neither does he. It's a hard place to be in. He was there with me when I found them, and he stayed with me all night," Erica says, wiping a tear as she remembers. "He held me in his arms and just let me cry. I knew he wanted to go find The Root and rip him to pieces, but I needed him."

Camilla smiles, "It's good you had him. I had my dad, but we were both so torn apart, we couldn't look at each other without breaking down again."

"I bet that was hard. I'm grateful for Derek, but he's just so angry all the time about it, and I think he feels a bit guilty…" Erica tells her.

Before they can continue talking, Isaac returns with bags of food.

"I am back, bow down to me before—" he stops when he realizes the two girls are crying.

"Oh no. Hey guys, shit—"

"We're fine," Erica laughs, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Just a little dead-parent talk that we both needed." Camilla nods, wiping her face too.

Isaac sits next to Camilla and hands Erica one of the bags, "Well, I'm a part of that club too… but let's not get into that. How about I can just enjoy a nice, greasy meal with my girls, okay?"

"Okay," they answer simultaneously.

"No more tears?"

"No more tears," they say at the same time again.

"Alright," Isaac says, satisfied. He wraps his arm around Camilla and kisses her on the head right before opening the bag in his hands and pulling out the food.

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek slams the door to his Camaro when he arrives at the Hale house, anger pulsing through his veins.

When he gets to the door he kicks it open, already in wolf-mode.

"Come out you bastard!" he growls. "I know you're here."

He kicks a chair in his way and enters what used to be the living room. He hears a noise and turns to the direction it came from.

"Come out and face me," he roars.

Instead of The Root stepping out of the shadows, Boyd does.

"Long time no see, Derek," he says smirking.

"Boyd what the hell are you doing? You do know your "master" killed Erica's parents? He's destroying what used to be your pack!"

"Yeah, and I'm helping him," Boyd replies, still smiling.

"Why? What did we do to you that you're turning your back on your true friends?"

"True friends wouldn't have let me die!" Boyd yells. In a flash he transforms and moves towards Derek.

Derek anticipates his moves, and maneuvers out of the way. When Boyd turns around, Derek strikes, nailing him in the stomach.

Boyd barely reacts, and charges at him again. He misses, and Derek's swipes his claws against Boyd's face, slowing him down a bit.

The two got at it for minutes, but Derek obviously has the upper hand. He gets a strong hold of Boyd and begins punching his face over and over. The anger flows through him and he doesn't stop. Boyd struggles, but as he continues to get his, he becomes weaker.

All of the sudden, Malum appears in the room, and in a strong voice, he yells, "Let him go now, or I'll kill more than just her parents."

Derek stops, his heart racing. He thinks, and decides to oblige. He yanks Boyd's body up and throws him into a wall where the younger boy collapses in a heap.

"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" The Root asks, still in the form of Erica's father, blood still soaking his clothes.

"He's no longer a friend, he's proven that," Derek huffs.

"That's right," The Root agrees. "Now, things might be different if I wasn't mostly controlling him, but oh well. Details, details."

"Why are you doing this?" Derek asks.

"Well, I was just enjoying my time in the real world until you decided to break my bond. That wasn't very nice of you. I wasn't causing any harm. Plus, I thought you would be happy I brought blondie back," The Root answers.

"She wasn't fully herself, just like Boyd."

"I see your point…" Malum says. "Oh, and if you're thinking you're going to break his bond too, you're dead wrong. I took care of that. I won't make the same mistake twice, I just wasn't counting on a little know-it-all giving away all the answers." The Root frowns.

"Any who, I'd better run, I have plans for more destruction since you decided to start a war," The Root says.

"We didn't start anything, we just wanted all of Erica back."

"Tomato, tom-ah-toe," Malum says, waving his hand. "See you soon!"

Derek watches as The Root snaps and disappears.

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia skates to the sideline and clutches at her chest, a strange fullness coming over her.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asks, skating up beside her.

She nods her strawberry blonde head, "Yeah, I just… I feel like I need to cough or something."

"Is she alright?" Allison asks as she and Scott come up to the duo standing beside the bar. Allison's nose and cheeks shine red due to the cold of the skating rink.

"I'm fine, I just… have this really weird feeling in my chest. I don't know what it is."

Scott suggests, "Maybe you swallowed funny?"

"Maybe," Lydia says as she tries to clear her throat, her fingers wrap around the small _L_ pendant on her necklace.

Allison begins to skate off, "I'll go get you a water."

"No, it's fine I…" then as if floodgates had been opened, Lydia lets out an earthshaking wail, "AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

_TEEN WOLF_


	9. Just Shoot Me (3x21)

All the boys sit in the locker room, it is clear that some of them are fighting off tears and, rather reluctantly, Coach Finstock addresses the issue, "I know that this isn't the first loss of a teammate we've had. Last year with Daehler and now with…" the man turns his back to the team and brushes away a tear, "with Greenberg."

"Are you crying coach? You hated Greenberg," Stiles says in protest.

Finstock points at Stiles, "Is that a joke, Stilinski? I loved Leroy."

"Yeah and thanks to Leroy," Jackson whispers to Scott, "Lydia screamed like a banshee and ruined my study date."

"You say something, Jackson?" the coach asks and upon doing so the rest of the boys in the locker room turn to stare at their co-captain.

"Just that… uh… we lost not only a great defender, but also a great guy," Jackson replies quickly.

The dark haired coach nods his weary head, "Truer words have never been spoken. Our game this Friday has been postponed due to our loss, and on top of that I've decided to cancel practice for the rest of the week… now if any of you boys need to talk to someone feel free to speak with Ms. Morell or myself."

With those last words coach turns around and goes into his office and as the door closes the boys can hear sobs on the other side of the door.

"He literally spent three years treating Greenberg like crap and now all of a sudden he's the kid's number one fan," Stiles says to the two werewolves in front of him, "sort of messed up."

Scott shrugs and pulls his backpack from his locker, "He's grieving. Cut him some slack."

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia taps her pink mechanical pencil furiously against the table top in chemistry while Mrs. Trumbolt talks about hydrogen bonds, finally reaching her limit she asks Isaac, "Do you hear that?"

The boy shakes his head, "I don't hear anything… why what do you hear?"

"It's like a banging or something… I… I can't quite put my finger on it," she turns around and looks at Nolan and Jackson, asking those two boys, "can you hear that?"

"No… should I hear something?" Nolan counters.

Jackson's brow furrows, "What is it Lydia?"

"It's like someone is slapping something or… it's a bang. Like a big bang."

"Pretty sure that's a TV show," Isaac interjects.

Lydia glares at him, "I didn't realize it was comedy hour."

Isaac nods his head and returns his focus to the teacher, tugging the sleeves of his sweater over his hands, as Lydia continues to talk to Jackson and Nolan.

"What if this is a banshee thing? I've heard things before… what if I'm hearing the sound of some impending disaster?"

Nolan leans forward, "Banshees are harbingers of death. That's why you scream every time a body is about to appear… I guess it's possible that what you're hearing something bad that's going to happen."

"Great," Lydia sighs, turning back around, "now not only do I have a supersonic scream I also have hearing to match it. That's fantastic."

Across the aisle, Scott whispers to Allison and Camilla, "She's hearing a banging sound and Nolan thinks it's some residual banshee thing."

Stiles leans back in his seat as he chews on his pen, wondering what Lydia could possibly be hearing. He thinks back to the night at the Glen Capri Motel when the girl had said she'd heard a couple making a suicide pact and a baby being drowned.

Finally the dark haired boy says, "Whatever it is, it's definitely of the not good variety."

"Banging like someone banging on a door or…" Allison trails.

"Or like the bang of a gun," Camilla finishes, as the four kids look over at Lydia who resumes tapping her pencil on the desk.

_TEEN WOLF_

"I've got to go to the bathroom," Lydia says to Stiles, "so go grab a table and I'll be right there."

The red haired girl hustles towards the girl's room as Stiles continues on into the cafeteria, upon entering the dark haired boy spots Camilla and Isaac sitting at their usual table, chatting about something funny from the looks of it.

Stiles heads over to the couple just as they get up.

"Woah woah woah," he protests once they reach where he stands, "where are you kids heading off to? The party just arrived."

Camilla tucks her hair behind her ear before saying, "We were talking and I mentioned I played piano and Isaac wants to hear, so we're headed to the music room. You can come if you want."

"No you can't," Isaac corrects, grabbing his girlfriend's hand to lead her out of the lunch room.

The boy watches as Camilla's black skirt flies behind her as she and Isaac exit the cafeteria.

With a sigh, Stiles continues on to the table and sits down just as the tall boy enters. Not noticing anything unusual, he pulls out his PBJM and then his pudding cup. Looking up just in time Stiles spots him and watches as he shoves a lunch lady out of his way. At first glance, Stiles isn't sure who it is, but when the gun is pulled from his pocket and a shot is fired he knows exactly who he's looking at.

Stiles watches as Matt pulls the trigger again, this time hitting a short blonde girl right in between the eyes. The boy watches in horror as the girl crumbles to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut. It's then that reality sets in – as screams fill his ears – that he sees what's right before his eyes. Matt's been recruited by the Root and this minion means business.

Tables are being tossed and everyone is running out of the cafeteria. Stiles is quick to collect his backpack and run as well, abandoning his sandwich and pudding cup, he runs as fast as he can to the door, stopping only to grab the hand of a freshman boy who'd fallen so as to help him up.

"He's got a gun!" one boy yells, while another screams, "Move faster assholes!"

"Quick!"

"I don't want to die!"

"No way am I dying in school!"

"RUN!"

Scott and Allison are slowly proceeding to the lunch room when they see the crowd of students running towards them. Before Scott can ask what's going on when the principal's voice comes over the intercom to say "There is a shooter loose in the building. All students are to seek cover and remain there until the premise is clear."

Just then there are two more shots and Allison lets out a shriek as she sees two boys fall to the floor – blood pooling around their heads. Scott has a hold of her hand and is pulling her to the supply closet just beside the vending machine before she can do anything to try and help the boys.

She knows it's pointless though, they were dead the second they hit the ground.

In the bathroom Lydia keeps a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming as she balances herself on the toilet seat. Tears are beginning to slide down her face and it soon dawns on her what the banging noise she'd been hearing all morning had been.

Her screams slow and it's now that she knows the screams hadn't been from horror, but had instead been because of her banshee identity. She'd been screaming because bodies were beginning to pile up.

_TEEN WOLF_

Isaac and Camilla crouch beneath the piano in the music room wrapped in each other's arms. Tears slide down Camilla's face as she shakes from fear. Isaac holds on to her, never wanting to ever let go.

"The banging noise Lydia heard…" Camilla says shakily in a whisper.

Isaac shushes her and nods his head, understanding that the girl had foreseen, or foreheard, the shooting. He wraps his arms around Camilla tighter as she buries her face into his chest.

Before the two had crawled under the piano, he had tore off the metal leg of a chair and put it through the door handles, stopping anyone from getting in. Well, anyone with human strength, that is.

Isaac draws in a shaky breath as he hears something with his wolf senses. Footsteps in the hallway. His body tenses even more as they get closer.

"What is it?" Camilla asks, frightened. Isaac doesn't answer, so she says, "They're coming. Aren't they?"

More tears pour from her eyes and Isaac leans down to kiss her forehead then her lips.

"We're okay, baby. I would never let anything happen to you. You're safe with me. I promise," he tells her kissing her again.

From their view under the table, they can see the door clearly. Their eyes are glued to the windows in the door, waiting for the maker of the footsteps to walk by. Or even look in.

Camilla can hear the echoing footsteps now and she shakes even harder, whimpering a little bit.

"Baby, you gotta calm down. Your heart is going so fast. Just breathe, Camilla," Isaac whispers into her ear, his hand rubbing circles on her back. "You're so strong. You can get through this. We're going to be just fine, baby. You just need to breathe, Camilla."

The girl nods as more tears fall, "How many do you think are dead?"

"I don't know," Isaac answers truthfully, although he heard four gunshots.

Suddenly, the two see a figure in the window. Camilla continues to shake and cry, and Isaac just holds her tighter. They both hold their breaths as the figure walks by and disappears from the sight of the windows.

The two slowly let out their breaths, but don't move, knowing the shooter is still a threat.

"Did you see who it was?" Camilla asks, almost inaudibly.

"No. But I think it's a guy."

"Who would do this?" she bows her head down and breathes in and out, trying to calm herself.

Before Isaac can answer, the figure is back at the window, this time looking into the room.

Isaac had shut off the lights, so the shooter struggles to see into the room. He tries entering the room, but to no avail.

Without a warning, the boy pulls the gun up to the windows and fires. Camilla jumps and burrows even farther into Isaac's arms. He holds her tighter, ready to attack if he needs to.

The shooter clears the glass that is still in the frame, and the shattering of the glass frightens Camilla who is trying her best not to make a sound by covering her mouth with her hands.

The shooter reaches down and tries to open the door, but he realizes that it somehow is blocked by the chair leg. Frustrated, he punches part of the door. He begins to leave, but notices something in the room and stops. He glues his eyes on it and tilts his head.

Camilla, shuts her eyes, sure he had spotted them. She waits for the sound of the gun firing, the seconds feeling like hours.

But it never comes. Instead she hears footsteps walking away from the room, and back where they had originally came from.

She opens her eyes and looks at Isaac, who looks like he had seen a ghost.

"D-did he see us?" Camilla asks.

Isaac shakes his head.

"Could you tell who he was?"

Isaac nods and painfully swallows before answering, "It was Matt. The one who is supposed to be dead."

_TEEN WOLF_

Stiles sits with his back against a cold locker in the locker room as tears fall from his eyes. He quickly wipes them away and pulls out his phone to text his father.

He begins typing the message when he hears the door open and he freezes, fear consuming him.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Matt's chilling voice calls, making shivers go down Stiles' spine. He dims the light on his phone and nearly drops it because his hands are shaking.

He can barely see the screen in the dark room and he tries to type out the message to his father quickly, but his shaky fingers won't allow it. Matt's footsteps get closer and Stiles tries to see through his tears to look at his phone screen.

It's then that Matt turns the corner and spots Stiles sitting.

He cocks his head and smiles, "Olly olly oxen free," he sings, lifting up the gun and pointing it right at Stiles.

With his phone hidden behind his back, all Stiles can do is beg.

"Please, Matt. I know he's controlling you… But try and break free… You have to have some humanity left in you," he pleads, tears falling freely, his voice cracking.

Matt just smiles at him, the gun still pointed directly at his head.

"Please," Stiles whispers.

Matt lowers the gun and walks a bit closer. Stiles tries to scoot away but Matt just laughs.

"You can't run. You can't hide. I'll always find you. Always."

Just then, he pulls the gun back up and fires not once but three times. Stiles' ears ring and his body jolts.

At first he didn't think he got shot, that somehow Matt had missed. But when he looks down, he sees blood soaking his t-shirt. He pulls one of his hands to touch it, and when he pulls it away, it is covered in red.

His vision blurs as he sees his red hand in front of him. His body can longer support itself and he crumples backwards, shaking.

Matt walks over and laughs, his smile haunting Stiles.

The shooter shakes his head and walks away, leaving Stiles to bleed out.

Stiles can feel the pain, but he tries to ignore it as black spots fill his vision. He thinks about his phone and forces himself to pull it out.

With the best effort he can, he finishes the message to his father, adding SOS to the end. He hits send right as the world fades away and everything goes black.

_TEEN WOLF_

"Camilla and Isaac are in the music room," Allison whispers to Scott as she slides her phone back into the pocket of her jeans.

"Okay, that's two," Scott whispers back, "but there's still four people unaccounted for."

"You still haven't gotten a hold of Stiles?" she asks.

Scott shakes his head.

There's a buzzing sound and Allison yanks her phone out of her pocket, "Its Lydia. She's in the bathroom."

"Three safe… woah where are you going?" he asks as he grabs her arm to stop her from opening the supply closet door.

"Lydia's two doors down," Allison says, "I'm going to go get her and bring her back."

"No way. You can't do that," Scott protests.

"She is my best friend. I'm not going to leave her all alone when I know exactly where she is."

Scott chews his lip and watches in defeat as Allison slowly opens the door. She peeks her head out and looks around the deserted hallway. Books and papers have been flung about and the dead boys still lay on the floor. Bloody foot prints trail down the hallway as people had unknowingly stepped in their blood.

The girl looks down at her hand suddenly and sees Scott's fingers have been laced with her's.

"I'm going with you."

The pair hurries down the hall and to the restroom in what feels like no time at all, which Allison credits to the adrenaline.

Still holding Scott's hand, Allison pushes open the bathroom door and enters hesitantly. She peers around, bending down so that she can see under the stalls. When she doesn't see Lydia's familiar leather boots she stands up straight and asks, "Lydia?"

The stall closest to the handicapped stall shoots open and Lydia rushes over to her friends. Allison drops Scott's hand and wraps her hands around the red haired friend.

"Thank god," Lydia sobs into the shoulder of Allison's cardigan, "thank god, thank god, thank god."

"You're okay," Allison insists.

Trying his hardest not to ruin the moment, Scott clears his throat and says, "We should get back to the closet. Definitely safer there than here."

The girls nod their heads in a nearly perfect unison and hold hands, Allison stretching one out to grab on to Scott's. With that somewhat comforting connection made, the three teens make their way out of the bathroom and down the hall toward the supply closet.

Lydia's breathing is jagged from crying and her sharp intakes of breath don't help keep Allison and Scott off the edge.

The silence around them is almost painful, they all feel as though the shooter will come from around any corner and take them out. _Bang,_ the sound in Lydia's head goes off again and it catches her so off guard that she trips and brings Allison down with her.

"I'm sorry," the strawberry blonde whispers.

Allison smiles weakly and get herself up, pulling Lydia up behind her, "It's no problem."

There's a laughing coming from somewhere and when Lydia first hears it she isn't sure it's real. "Do you hear that?" she asks her friends.

The two other kids look around and it's Allison who spots the source of the laughter and asks hesitantly, "Matt?"

"Surprise, bitch," the brunette boy smiles as he points the gun at her, "Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me."

Without warning Lydia's mouth falls open and a wail escapes her lips. As the scream draws to a halt, Matt is quick to comment.

"What the hell was that?" he asks, "Screaming like a fucking banshee. You're going to spoil all my fun."

Lydia stands and gently sways from side to side, completely out of it. Her expression is blank and her stare is glassy. Faintly, you can hear her whimper before she falls back and is caught by Allison. The dark haired girl smoothly sinks to the ground with Lydia in her arms.

_TEEN WOLF_

Nolan sits in the nonfiction section with his knees drawn to his chest. He can feel the tightness in his chest and knows his body is doing its best to keep off a panic attack. His fingers thrum against the carpeted floor of the library as he waits for someone to come around the corner and say "Just kidding about the shooter thing."

"You alright?" Jackson asks as he comes to sit down beside his friend.

"Honestly?" Nolan asks, "No. I'm not alright. I feel like I'm going to die in this spot, in the library, as the weird kid."

Jackson raises an eyebrow, wordlessly asking Nolan to elaborate.

"I'm the weird kid. I always have been. Even in Springfield, I was the weird kid. I mean my dad teaches occult and my mom's a registered loon… and I listen to Lady Gaga and I dance by myself in my bedroom. I stay up until three in the morning doodling… I like to match my phone case to my outfit. My pets are named after female heroines on old TV shows for crying out loud," the boy looks into Jackson's worried eyes, "I'm the boy in the back of the class who no one wants to talk to out of fear of catching the bizarre."

"Why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Because it's the end of the world, dude. It's apocalypse now, its doomsday. There's a shooter running around the school playing Call of Duty: Beacon Hills. And I'm in the middle of having an existential crisis where I'm seeing now that I've spent sixteen years of my life being some big ole weirdo… I don't want to die like that."

"Nothing that you told me seems so weird," Jackson replies, "maybe it's because I live here, in a town where werewolves and banshees and roots of evil come to hang out, but that doesn't seem all that weird to me."

Nolan lets his legs slide flat to the ground and seamlessly lets his head fall to rest on Jackson's shoulder.

"And you're not going to die today," Jackson insists.

After a moment of silence, Nolan says flatly, "My cat is named after Mars after Veronica Mars and my dog is named after Buffy from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_."

Tears swiftly begin to slide down his face as he stares straight ahead at his blue converse.

Jackson chuckles and places his head on top of Nolan's, "That's actually kind of rad."

"Do you see what you get from eating lunch with me?"

Jackson places his hand on top of Nolan's and squeezes it, "I get to learn about the cool, cute new kid. That doesn't seem so bad."

The boys are silent as they sit on the hard floor of the library hoping to avoid the shooter. At intervals Jackson's thumb strokes Nolan's hand and it comforts the boy. Nolan lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and then begins to speak.

"I really like you, Jackson," he says moving his head off the boy's shoulder to lock eyes with him.

Jackson nods, "I really like you too…"

The boys begin to move closer together, a heat rising between the pair that neither one can quite put their finger on. Nolan begins to blush and shuts his eyes - their faces are barely an inch apart when suddenly another gunshot echoes through the building as well as a ground shaking scream. They pull apart and Nolan yanks his knees back up to his chest and squeezes his blue eyes shut.

"Crap, crap, crap," he whispers repeatedly.

Jackson wraps his arms around the boy and says soothingly, "We're going to be fine, you hear me?"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

_TEEN WOLF_

At the loft, Erica is livid. With the news on in the background she paces the floor in hysterics while Derek tries to calm her down.

"Erica, there are three werewolves in the high school, I'm sure they can hold their ground. Everything will be fine," he says, holding his hands up and inching towards her.

"Fine? How can you say that? Innocent people are going to die. I know those kids, I've gone to school with them my whole life… And are you forgetting we have some human friends?" she shrieks, nearly in tears.

"No, I haven't forgot. But they have the advantage of having werewolves by their side nearly 24 hours a day. Everyone is going to be okay."

Erica stops pacing and looks right at Derek, "You don't know that. We don't know that this is just a random high school shooting. This is Beacon Hills. If it's not a hunter, it's some supernatural being."

"Erica…"

"It could be him," she says as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "He could kill them just like he killed my parents."

She starts crying and Derek rushes forward to comfort her.

"I can't lose anyone else, it's not fair," she wails into his chest. "He can't do this to me again!"

"Erica, we don't know it's him," Derek says, his arms holding the girl.

She pulls away, "Don't we, though?"

Derek looks at her straight in the eyes and tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, "If it is, and if anyone dies, I promise you, I will kill him. And he will suffer."

"We don't even know how to kill him," she whispers, her voice full of tears.

"We'll find a way, I promise."

Erica turns away and runs her hands through her hair, "I need to go there. We… we could break in and get whoever it is. We need to stop them… I can't sit around and wait for my friends to die."

"Erica, you saw the news, the police are at every entrance. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't get us in."

Erica looks back at him and doesn't say a word, her eyes saying it all.

_TEEN WOLF_

Allison screams as the gun goes off, falling to the floor with Lydia in her arms. She shuts her eyes, waiting for whatever was about to come.

She listens as she hears a body drop to the floor.

Her eyes open in a flash and she looks around the scene, expecting to see Scott's body lying bloody on the floor.

Instead, she sees Sheriff Stilinski rush over to her, his gun still drawn.

Allison's head spins and she faintly hears the sheriff calling her name. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she woozily turns her head to look at Scott, who she thinks is also calling her name. She holds Lydia in her arms and doesn't let go.

She looks away from Scott, wondering what just happened. She figures it out when she sees Matt's re-dead body lying on the floor, a single bullet wound to the back of the head.

She looks back at the sheriff who speaks into his radio. Everything fades in and out, and the last thing Allison sees, or thinks she sees, is Matt's body turning to dust right before she loses consciousness.

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia sits next to Stiles' bed, holding on to the boy's hand. Every now and then she brushes tears away with her free hand, but mostly she's concentrated on the hope that Stiles will open his eyes and smile at her again.

The hospital room is silent except for the beeping sound of the heart monitor and the occasional sniffle of any one of the teenagers in the room presently. Camilla stands wrapped in Isaac's arms with her face buried in his chest. Allison and Scott stand side-by-side not touching but clearly intertwined. Jackson stands beside where Nolan sits, his hands gripping the leather back of the chair tightly.

Scott's face is blank, but the absence of emotion is worse than if he were crying.

Outside in the hallway Sheriff Stilinski paces back and forth as he waits for the doctor to come and tell him the news. His face is twisted with worry and it's obvious to all who look at him that he wants to be anywhere but waiting outside of his son's hospital room. The sheriff looks around at all the busy people in the hospital and is slightly caught off guard when Derek and Erica arrive.

Erica rushes up to the man, the sharp heels she wears making a distinct clacking sound on the tiled floor of Beacon Hills Hospital.

"How is he?" the blonde girl asks Stiles' father once she reaches him. Her eyes dart to the room where she sees her friends waiting around the boy.

The man shakes his head, "I don't know. They just brought him out of surgery to remove the bullets… I'm waiting for Dr. Burke to fill me in."

"Oh my god," Erica says in shock as she hurries into the room where all her friends sit and wait.

Derek locks eyes with the man before him and says, "I can help… I can take away some of his pain."

"Scott and Isaac already did, but anything you think will help… I'd appreciate it, Derek," the sheriff replies before he turns around to see Melissa walking toward him. Derek is quick to enter Stiles' room then.

Melissa sets a chart down on the counter of the nurse's station and then says, "Has Dr. Burke been by yet?"

The sheriff shakes his head no.

"He'll be by any minute now, I'm sure of it," she says, placing her hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to steal Scott for a minute though. When you hear something, let me know."

Sheriff Stilinski smiles softly, "I will, Melissa."

She nods and then walks to Stiles' room and sticks her head in, asking for Scott and then – after seeing the man beside Stiles, hand on his shoulder – she asks for Derek as well. The two werewolves exchange a worried glance and silently follow the woman out of the room.

Scott's mom leads the men down a short hallway and then turns around to stare at them gravely.

"What is it, mom?" Scott asks worriedly.

Melissa pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "Last night, when Leroy Greenberg's body was brought in I didn't have time to see it. I just signed the papers and watched while the people wheeled him to the morgue. But earlier today I went to check and make sure everything was normal… and, well…"

"What?" Derek urges.

"There was a marking on his body. The same design that I've seen twice before, that resurrection thing-a-ma-bob," she tells the two.

Scott looks over to Derek and says, "Explains how Matt was among the living."

Frustration crosses over Derek's face and without notice he turns to the wall and slams his fist into it, knocking a picture of daisies in a field off the wall in the process. He growls as he withdraws his hand from the hole.

"Yowza," Melissa comments.

Derek's eyes flash blue and Scott sees his teeth begin to expand. He's quick then to get his mom out of the vicinity.

"Derek, cool it," Scott insists. "You're starting to shift."

"I don't care," the older man says, "because of that son of a bitch, Root of all Evil, asshole we might lose one of our own. Stiles is just as much a part of this pack as I am and Malum has crossed the line by getting him hurt."

Scott crosses his arms, "So what do you propose we do?"

_TEEN WOLF_

Derek's Camaro comes to a stop and Derek flies out of it and up the steps of the Hale house with Scott on his heels.

Derek bursts through the front door and yells, "Come out, you bastard!"

From a room in the back of the house, Boyd comes out.

"What the hell are you doing here, Derek?" he asks.

"Not now, Boyd. I want to speak to your daddy," he roars back.

"He's not home right now, you're going to have to deal with me," Boyd growls, extracting his claws and shifting. Derek and Scott do the same.

Boyd makes the first move, but he clearly underestimates Derek as his body gets slammed down into the floor.

He is quick to get back on his feet and he makes a move for Derek again, only to be interrupted by Scott who slams him into a wall.

Boyd shakes himself off and goes for the two, but Derek slashes him, opening a window where Boyd is off guard. That's all Derek needs as he slashes again and again, backing Boyd into a wall.

He keeps slashing and slashing and Scott watches. After a few more, he speaks.

"Derek, stop! You're going to kill him!"

Derek doesn't stop or even register that Scott has spoken, instead he continues to hurt Boyd.

"Derek!" Scott yells again. His attempt fails and soon enough the life leaves Boyd's eyes for a second time, leaving Derek with bloody claws.

He turns to face Scott, but before either of them can speak, they both hear the sound of clapping. They turn to the source and see The Root, still in Erica's father's body.

"Well done, Derek."

Derek growls and lunges for Malum who snaps and disappears only to reappear on the other side of the room.

"Now, now, don't you think Erica's father has been through enough?" The Root says with a laugh. "I sure showed him no mercy."

"Why did you bring Matt back you bastard? You killed innocent people!" Derek growls.

"Because I can. What don't you guys seem to get by that? I like to kill, it's fun. And now that you're on my bad side, I figured I should do something to upset you."

Neither of the werewolves speak, so Malum continues.

"And since you killed two of mine today, you're just going to love what I plan next. Ooh, I'm excited, it'll be so much fun. So much blood."

The Root smiles one last time before he snaps, disappearing from the house.

Derek and Scott change back and leave the house, noticing that where Boyd's body once lied is now a pile of ash.


	10. Edge of Eighteen (3x22)

Camilla's hair flows back and forth with each swing she takes. The sun is setting on the horizon and looks almost unreal. Her hands grip the cool metal chains of the swing as she flies back and forth. She closes her eyes and inhales the fresh air.

When she swings backwards, she feels strong hands push her forward, making her swing go even higher. Her eyes flash open and she turns around and sees Isaac smiling from the ground. She comes back down and this time, rather than pushing her, Isaac grabs her and brings her to a stop.

"Hey gorgeous," he says, his hands still on her. Camilla looks down at her lap, smiling. Isaac's hands vacate her body and he moves to stand in front of her.

One of his hands lifts her chin so she looks up at him, her eyes locked onto his.

"You're so beautiful," he tells her breathily. Camilla watches as he leans his face in closer, about to kiss the brunette.

Before their lips meet, Camilla hears a loud bang and her eyes rip open. Before her, she sees Isaac hunching over, his face contorted with pain, blood quickly soaking his shirt.

"Isaac!" she yells, pushing herself off the swing. She rushes over to him, but he grabs her arm and starts pushing her away.

"Run!" he yells, barely being able to get it out, his eyes focused on something behind her.

She turns her head and sees Matt standing behind the swing set, a gun in his hand pointed directly at her.

Behind Matt, The Root stands with a smile on his face.

"Shoot," she hears The Root say.

Camilla turns, but it's too late. She feels the bullet pierce her back and she collapses.

Her eyes flip open and she sits up quickly, her heart pounding. She hears a banging and her eyes widen. Her mind flashes to The Root, and she gulps.

"Camilla, honey? Are you awake?" Ron's voice calls into her room. Camilla relaxes and lets out her breath. She shakes her head at her silliness and calls back to her father.

"I am now. Come in!"

She watches the knob of her door turn and Ron enters the room. Camilla looks curiously at her father as she realizes he is holding something behind his back.

"Whatcha got there?" she asks, gathering her hair up and tying it just above the nape of her neck.

"Oh nothing, it's just the typical Saturday morning. Nothing here," he replies, grinning.

"Would it happen to be the keys to a brand new Mustang?" she asks playfully.

"Not quite," Ron tells her, producing a neatly wrapped gift from behind his back. "Besides, you've got Roxanne, who happens to be the best car out there. She's worked for you all this time, and she's got a few more years left in her."

Camilla laughs and takes the present, "True. I don't think I'm ready to give up Ol' Red anyways."

"Open it up," He urges her cheerfully.

Camilla, not wasting any time to spare any of the wrapping paper, rips into the gift excitedly.

She produces a small jewelry box, and grins up at her father before opening it. He nods and smiles lightly.

Camilla opens the box to reveal a gorgeous necklace. The chain was simple, and the main focus point was a shining gem.

"Topaz?" she asks knowingly.

Her father nods, "Your mother actually picked it out a long time ago. She saw it and knew you would love it. We always had it waiting for your 18th birthday. I wish she could be here to see you open it… she was so excited about it."

Camilla smiles solemnly for a moment, looking at the necklace, "I love it."

She pulls the necklace from its box and carefully clasps it around her neck.

"Looks perfect," Ron says quietly.

"Thank you, Dad."

Ron moves closer and kisses his daughter on the forehead.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart. Oh and before I forget, I wanted to give you something else…"

Camilla watches her father pull out a ring from his back pocket, and instantly, she recognizes it.

"Is that… Mom's ring?" she asks, nearly choking up.

Ron smiles sadly, "It is. I want you to have it now. You're 18, an adult. You remind me of your mother more and more every day. I think it's time I stop letting it sit in my medicine cabinet and let you have it. I know she'd want you to."

Camilla, feels the sting of tears in her eyes, and lifts herself from her bed to hug her father.

"Thank you," she whispers still holding him close.

He slips the ring carefully onto her finger and leads her into the kitchen where breakfast awaits.

For minutes, the two eat, not speaking as their hunger takes over.

Ron takes a bite of a piece of toast and looks at Camilla, "How are you doing, though?"

Camilla shrugs, "I'm okay. Everyone's kind of been there for each other since we're all going through the same thing."

"Are you sure you're up for staying over at Lydia's tonight? You guys can always stay here if you want…"

"Dad, I'm 18, I can stay at a friend's house for one night and I'll be fine," she assures him.

"I know. I'm just worried about you. And Chris told me that Allison is still having nightmares."

"She's been having them for a long time, though."

Ron sighs, "Okay, okay. You want to go, I get it. No boys over though, okay?"

Camilla smiles, "Of course, Dad."

Ron shakes his head and rips off a piece of bacon and chews on it.

"Oh," he says after a minute. "Before I forget, I wanted to tell you that Graham is coming into town later."

Camilla freezes when she hears his name, "What?"

"Yeah, he's on break from college for a bit and since it's your birthday, he wanted to stop by and visit."

Camilla doesn't say anything, so Ron continues.

"He's staying here tonight and possibly tomorrow, too."

Camilla, gathering the strength to speak, says, "What time is he supposed to get here?"

"Sometime in the afternoon, he told me on the phone yesterday," Ron answers, not noticing Camilla's fists clenching.

"Is Frank coming too?" Camilla asks.

"No, just Graham. It was kind of a last minute thing. But Graham did say that his father wished you a happy birthday, so make sure you call Frank later."

"Will do," Camilla says, anger radiating off of her.

_Wonderful,_ she thinks to herself. _My ex-boyfriend just has to come visit, doesn't he?_

_TEEN WOLF_

Nolan sits at his desk reading _As I Lay Dying _intently. His eyes scan the page before he flips it and sees that he's only got one chapter left before he reaches the end. Sighing, he sets the book down on his desk just as his dad enters the room.

"I've got something for you," the man smiles as he produces a small package from behind his back.

Nolan shakes his head, "I'm amazed you fit a pony into such a small box."

"Just shut up and open it."

With a roll of the eyes, Nolan takes the gift from his father's hand and opens it. Inside sits a ring with a small letter 'A' carved into it. Nolan tenses, feeling the all too familiar pressure on the corners of his eyes as he peers at the small, silver ring. He removes it from the box and gently slides it on his second finger.

"Dad, this is… this is actually really great. Thank you."

His dad nods his head and cautiously accepts the hug Nolan gives him, "It's not every day my son turns seventeen you know. I've also got another surprise for you… your mom is coming home today."

"Seriously?" Nolan asks, brightening up instantly, "You aren't just saying that because it's my birthday are you? Because that would definitely be a new low."

The man raises an eyebrow, "I can all but guarantee she'll be home tonight. Now, happy birthday Nolan."

_TEEN WOLF_

Isaac digs into his bowl of cereal and glances at Erica who sits next to him.

"You want some?" he asks, his mouth full.

"I'm okay," she responds, slightly amused.

Isaac shrugs and takes another spoonful. After a moment, he speaks again, his mouth still full.

"Oh, hey. Are you coming to Camilla's party tonight? She really wants you to go…"

Erica looks over at him, her expression conflicted, "I don't know if I'm feeling up for it."

"C'mon, Erica. Everyone there will be grieving just like you. Need I remind you of the shooting earlier? Tonight's everyone's night to just be together, have fun, and forget about their troubles for a while."

"Won't it be kind of morbid then?" she questions pulling a face.

"I don't think so. I think everyone's just been bumming out all week, they probably just want to let loose for one night. Let some things go," he tells her, adding, "I know I do."

Erica doesn't answer, considering her options.

"You'll fit right in, I promise. We've all got sorrows. Some of those kids lost best friends. Some lost their feeling of safety."

Erica sighs, "Okay, I'll go."

"Good choice," Isaac says right as Derek walks into the room. "Hey, Derek, you wanna go to Camilla's party, too?"

Derek just looks at Isaac and shakes his head, moving into the kitchen without saying a word.

"Well, you'd be a party pooper anyways," Isaac yells after him, shoving another mouthful of cereal into his face.

_TEEN WOLF_

Pointing with a perfectly painted fingernail Lydia says to Allison, "Hand me that box of streamers, please."

The dark haired girl is quick to oblige and hands Lydia the box. The strawberry blonde pulls out another roll of white streamers and begins to hang them along the doors leading into her house from the backyard/pool area.

"Not that I'm not excited," Camilla adds as she fills another balloon with helium, "but isn't this party kind of in poor taste? There was just a mass homicide at our school not four days ago and now we're out here hanging streamers so that I can celebrate another year of aging."

Allison shakes her head, "Don't be a spoil sport. This is exactly what everyone needs, it's a good distraction and it'll maybe make people the tiniest bit happier."

"Plus we've sort of been planning this shindig since the week after you moved to town," Lydia admits, "it started off as a surprise, but as you can tell it's no longer going to shock you."

Brushing some hair out of her face, Camilla sighs, "All I'm saying is that I don't want people to think of my birthday party as some form of us cashing in on grieving kids."

"It's not," Allison insists. "What we need, what everyone in this town needs, is some fun. If people remember it as anything it'll be a survivor's party. Just relax, okay? And try to remember that it's your birthday and that you're allowed to have some fun… even in Beacon Hills."

Camilla stands up from where she sat and walks the shiny black balloon over to her cousin, she hands it to her and narrows her gaze, "I know how to have fun, Armpit."

"I never tire of you calling me that, Cleavage," Allison retorts with a smirk.

Camilla stands taken aback, "You swore you would never call me that ever again."

"Sorry," Allison shrugs, taping the balloon to a pillar, "I'm an armpit. I don't have a brain."

Lydia rolls her eyes and begins to twist a curl around her finger. She stands back to take in her handiwork and smiles, "If you two children will stop bickering for all of five seconds, would you mind telling me how this looks?"

The two girls step back to where Lydia stands. Camilla is quick to put her hands on her hips and take in the sight of the streamers.

"Not too shabby," the birthday girl says eyeing the room. "Now if only there was some way to stop Graham from ruining my happiness."

"And Graham is…?" Lydia asks as she walks over to the balloon box and grabs a silver piece of rubber, sticking it on the helium tank to allow it to fill.

Camilla sighs, "He's my ex-boyfriend/my dad's hunter friend's son, and I was told this morning by my loving father that he's going to be rolling into town today for my birthday. Even though my exact words when we broke up were 'I hate you and if I don't see you ever again it'll be too soon.'"

"Maybe he'll come back gay," Lydia smiles as she ties the end of the balloon off and hands it to Allison. "That could be fun, heck; we might even get a show on E! if that happens."

"You aren't mad about that are you?" Allison asks her best friend as she tacks the balloon onto another pillar, "Because Nolan is actually a really sweet guy and you hating him is really going to be a bummer for me."

Lydia adjusts the collar of her yellow button down shirt, "No, I don't hate Nolan. In fact I like him a lot; he's one of the only other people in this group that actually reads… plus he's funny and in all of my AP classes. Am I thrilled that my ex is having lovey dovey feelings for him? Not exactly, but… whatever."

"So we have a girl who's ex is a werewolf, a girl who's ex is a gay werewolf, and a girl who's ex is an asshole hunter… we should get a show on E! now," Camilla states, shining light on their situation. "Why do you even care about SpongeBob SquareChin anyway?"

"SpongeBob SquareChin?" Lydia questions.

"She's sort of got nicknames for everyone…" Allison informs the girl.

"SpongeBob SquareChin is Jackson. Armpit aka Allison. Jeep also referred to as Stiles. You're Red Hot if that makes you feel any better," Camilla beams at her friend, "I like to call Isaac 'Sex God.'"

Allison rolls her eyes, "Even though they haven't slept together yet."

"And for the record, my hair is strawberry blonde. Not red," Lydia corrects, "And what do you mean why do I care about Jackson?"

"Aren't you and Stiles sort of… together?" Camilla asks.

Lydia lets out a choked laugh, "As if! What just because I held his hand while he was on his deathbed I'm suddenly promised to him? Ha ha, very funny. You Argent girls are just a barrel of laughs, I swear."

"Someone's awfully defensive…"

"Because you've got your facts twisted. Yeah, sure I like Stiles, but everyone likes Stiles. He's a likeable guy. He's got the Jeep and the sarcasm and the cute… puppy eyes… and he's my friend, okay? Let's just drop it. We need more balloons."

Without further conversation, Lydia heads into the house her dog, Prada, barking lightly at her owner's entrance.

Camilla chuckles, "She's got a huge boner for Stiles."

_TEEN WOLF_

Hours later, there are teenagers galore, almost every one of them has a drink in their hand. Surprisingly, everyone is having a good time rather than focusing on their troubles.

Laughter floats through the air, mixing with the sounds of music.

In a small group stands Isaac, Camilla, Lydia and Stiles. Isaac has his arm wrapped around Camilla's waist, touching her bare skin due to her crop top. The birthday girl laughs when his fingers trace her skin and tickle her.

"God, I really want to be annoyed with you two, but you're too cute for me to do that," Lydia says a little irritably.

"Sorry?" Camilla laughs. Turning her attention to Stiles, she asks, "How are you holding up?"

The boy shrugs, wincing when he does, "I've definitely gotten better. This booze and the pain pills are really helping though." He raises his solo cup and nods at the brunette who laughs.

"Should you really be mixing the two?" Lydia asks, "I'm no pharmacist but I'm pretty sure it says clearly on the bottle 'Do Not Mix with Alcohol.'"

"Live and let live, Lydia," Stiles says over the music, moving his arm to put it around the girl's shoulders. At first, she tenses up, but then relaxes, feeling comfortable.

The group watches as a hipster-looking girl approaches them.

"Hey, Roxy!" Stiles exclaims.

"Hey guys," she replies, adjusting the glasses on her nose. Turning to the birthday girl, she adds, "Happy birthday Camilla."

"Thanks, Rox. I'm glad you came, I didn't know if people actually would…"

"We all needed it," Roxy says truthfully. "But on another note, I wanted to know if you care if I give a quick speech? I don't want to rain on your birthday parade, but it seems people are just stepping around the whole 'school shooting' pile of shit. Someone needs to clean it up…"

"Of course, Roxy," Camilla smiles. Isaac pulls her girl tighter to him and kisses her head. Roxy smiles at the show of affection and moves to step up onto one of the tables placed around the party area, careful to not step on any of the food.

"Attention please!" the girl yells from on top of the table. Gradually, everyone's eyes fall onto the short girl and someone turns down the music. Roxy clears her throat and begins.

"I just wanted to speak up for all the lives we lost this week. We lost some great people, and we'll never forget them. But today, today isn't for them. It's for us. We made it through the shooting. We survived. Our friends will live forever in our hearts, but right now, we need to live, because we're alive. So everyone raise your cups, and toast to those who are gone, but more importantly, drink for the ones who are still here. We need to grasp our lives, and keep living! What happened happened, but we made it through! So let's all drink to that!"

Roxy thrusts her cup into the air, and everyone repeats her gesture. After a moment, she throws her head back and drinks. Everyone does the same, taking back the liquid and washing some of the pain away.

"And now, I'd like to honor Camilla Argent. We all knew we needed to get out and have fun again, so God bless this girl for being born today! Everyone, raise your cups once again for one of the newest additions to our school, and drink to Camilla!"

Roxy repeats the raising and drinking, as does everyone else, even the birthday girl herself. When she finishes taking back the alcohol, she basks in the feeling of a warm sensation spreading from her throat to her stomach. She looks over at Isaac, and laughs again as she sees him gulping down his drink.

When he finishes he smiles at her and leans in for a kiss. Whistles come from the crowd, and the two pull apart, not realizing they were being watched. Isaac laughs and shrugs. He looks back at his girlfriend and without warning dips her down and kisses her passionately.

Cheers and whoops fill the air as they watch the couple kiss. When they finally pull apart, the music gets turned back up and the party goes on, this time with a little more happiness.

Roxy jumps down from the table and walks back over to the four.

"Thanks for letting me do that," she tells Camilla.

"No, thank you for doing that!" Camilla replies. "It was amazing. Just what this party needed!"

Roxy laughs and winks at her. She waves as she turns away to go join another group of people.

"Well," Isaac says after a moment, "my cup is empty and I need a refill. You want some more, babe?"

Camilla shrugs and hands her boyfriend her cup. He kisses her again, lightly this time, before he leaves.

"Well, I'm going to go check on everything," Lydia says.

"Do you need any help?" Camilla asks.

Lydia brushes of the girl, "No, no. It's your day. Have fun. Make out with your man." Turning to Stiles she says, "But you, you can come. You're helping."

"I'm kind of unable to at the moment," he reminds her.

Lydia groans, "Well, you'll do what you can. C'mon, cripple." With that, she sashays away, waving at a few people as she does.

"I'm not crippled!" Stiles calls after her. "I just got shot!" He shakes his head and follows after her.

Camilla laughs. She is about to go find Allison when strong arms wrap around her.

"You're back already?" she asks. "That drink line looked pretty brutal."

She turns around to face Isaac, but when she does, she realizes it isn't her boyfriend who is holding her. When she recognizes the hazel eyes, she immediately pushes him away, anger pulsing through her veins.

"Graham, what the hell?" she exclaims.

"What, you're not happy to see me?" he smirks.

"Not really, no."

"Oh, don't be like that, Camilla," he tells her, pulling a bottle of vodka from behind his back. "Besides, I brought you some booze. I know how much you like this stuff. I remember one specific time you had a bit too much and… what was it you did?" Putting his finger to his lips, he pretends to recall the incident.

"Go screw yourself."

"No, that wasn't it… Ah! I remember now! You—"

"GRAHAM SHUT UP!" Camilla yells.

"Woah, woah. Calm down, birthday girl. I'm not here to make you upset. I missed you. What do you say we go inside and catch up?"

"No," she tells him bluntly, crossing her arms.

"C'mon, I know how much you like to lick your Graham Cracker," he says seductively.

Camilla opens her mouth to respond, but Isaac joins the two, stopping her.

"Hey, babe. Who's this?" he asks, handing her her cup.

"I'm Graham, Camilla's friend from back home," Graham answers for her, thrusting out his hand to shake Isaac's. The two shake hands and Isaac smiles.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Camilla's boyfriend, Isaac."

"Boyfriend, huh?" Graham questions turning to Camilla, amused. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"Well considering I haven't talked to you for almost a year, it makes sense that you'd be out of the loop," she tells him coldly.

Isaac, sensing something weird, says, "Oh, babe, before I forget, Erica said she'll be here soon so do you wanna go meet her? She doesn't want to walk in alone."

Taking and deep breath, she turns and smiles at her boyfriend, "Yeah, I'd love to. Let's go now."

Isaac turns back to Graham, "Hey man, it was nice to meet you. I'll see you around?"

Graham opens his mouth to reply, but Camilla cuts him off.

"Probably not. Graham can't stay long. He was just coming to give me this," she tells Isaac, grabbing the bottle of vodka from Graham's hands. "Bye, Graham."

Without another word, she turns on her heel and drags Isaac along with her.

"What was that about?" he asks, his forehead wrinkling.

"He's just a dick is all."

"I thought he said you were friends?"

"Not really. His dad and my dad are friends. Both hunters. So you might want to stay away."

Isaac's eyes widen as he walks with Camilla, "Yikes, now I understand why you were so dismissive."

Camilla doesn't answer, and the two stop walking when they spot Erica. Isaac waves her over and the blonde is with them in a few seconds.

"Hey, happy birthday, Camilla," Erica smiles.

"Thanks, Erica. You want a drink?"

"Hell yes," Erica answers, taking the bottle that Camilla had handed to her.

With that, they walk back into the main area and Isaac grabs three shot glasses along the way. Pouring the clear liquid into each of the glasses, he hands them out to the two girls and keeps one for himself.

"To…Um…" Camilla starts.

"To Camilla," Isaac says, smiling at the dark haired girl.

"To Camilla," Erica repeats with a smile. Camilla laughs and shrugs. The three clink their glasses and throw the vodka back.

Scowls fill their faces as they swallow the strong tasting liquid.

"Damn, it's been a while," Erica says.

"Same here. I think I need another," Camilla says.

Erica nods her head, "Round two!"

After they toss back another round Erica speaks again, "Where's Scott and Allison? They need to do a shot with the birthday girl."

"I think I'm good for a while," Camilla mutters, blinking ever so slowly.

Erica shrugs, "Well then they can do a shot with me." She smiles at Isaac and Camilla and walks away, leaving the two to giggle.

_TEEN WOLF_

The music thumps loudly even inside the house drowning out the sound of Lydia's heels against the floor and Stiles' awkward shaky breath. He glances over at Lydia to catch the girl staring at him and just as they lock eyes she looks away.

"You look good tonight," Stiles smiles at the girl.

Looking down at her lacey green dress and then smiles back, "Thanks, new dress."

"It, uh, looks good…"

The song switches abruptly to something loud by Maroon 5. Catching on to this, Stiles begins to bob his head in time with the beat.

"Good song," the boy says.

"I love Maroon 5," Lydia agrees, "Is this One More Night?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

"It's a, um, a good one…"

The two sway about for a minute more before Lydia finally asks, "How's your gunshot wound?"

Stiles' brow furrows as he replies, "Its good. Scott and Isaac have both helped with the pain so it's just a little sore now. The painkillers help some too."

"Good, I'm glad you're getting better," Lydia smiles, "you know what, I think I'm gonna go and uh… oh wow, look there's Trina. I have to go ask her about the AP Stats report, I'll be right back."

Before the boy can respond Lydia has taken off, it isn't until the strawberry blonde is out of sight that he remembers Trina had transferred schools last year. He shrugs off Lydia's strange disappearance and then turns around, spotting Nolan against the wall swaying in time with the music.

Stiles begins to make his way over to the boy, looking for any form of human contact.

_TEEN WOLF_

A few minutes and a lot of shots later the party is in full swing, and everyone is having intoxicated fun. Camilla and Isaac dance to the music playing. With their hands all over each other, they might have to move their dancing to the bedroom within a few minutes.

Camilla pulls away from Isaac and begins to dance on her own, hypnotizing Isaac and a few of the guys standing nearby. Her body sways and moves perfectly. She bites her lip as she moves and Isaac watches, mesmerized.

The song ends, and she moves back to him, laughing.

"Holy shit, babe," he says, the world spinning a little bit.

"You like that?" Camilla asks seductively.

"I like all of you… I just… I want to make a speech!" he says suddenly, his eyes filling up with joy. Nearby, Erica dances with a guy and laughs when she overhears. Scott, holding Allison's hand, leads her onto the dance floor just in time to hear Isaac's proclamation.

"Yeah! Go Isaac!" the Alpha encourages him.

Isaac smiles and clumsily gets up on a table. Camilla watches, laughter bubbling in her throat.

"Turn down the music! Hey! Everyone! Speech!" Isaac yells.

Eventually, someone does turn down the music and Isaac takes a deep breath.

"I just wanted to take a second to honor my beautiful, amazing, talented, amazing girlfriend, Camilla. You are the _sexiest_ woman I've ever laid my eyes on and I'm so happy you're all mine. I love you and –" he stops when he realizes his words.

Camilla's jaw drops, but Isaac continues.

"Yeah! I love you! There! I said it! Everyone, I love CAMILLA! Woo!"

He finishes and jumps off of the table, stumbling a bit. He makes his way over to Camilla and when he gets back to her, he looks deeply into her eyes.

"I love you," he repeats just for her.

"I love you," she says back. In a fraction of a second, Isaac's hands are cupping Camilla's face and he pulls her to him. Their lips lock and once again, everyone cheers as the couple kisses. This time, however, they don't stop when they realize people are watching them. Instead, they keep kissing, forgetting people are even there.

The music turns back up and things go back to normal as the couple continues to kiss. They eventually pull apart, breathless.

"Wow," Camilla says, her cheeks red.

"Yeah," Isaac responds.

Erica walks up to them and puts her arms around both of them.

"You guys are so cute. I wish I had something like that, but the guy I like is too stupid to realize what he has right in front of him!" she slurs.

"You two talk, I have to pee," Isaac says, ducking under Erica's arm and leaving the two alone.

"He loves me! I don't know why!" Camilla laughs, drunk from the alcohol and the love.

"Because you rock, girl! Own it!" Erica tells her.

"So do you!" Camilla says. "We both rock!"

"Yeah! Now if only Derek would realize that!" Erica says, starting to dance again.

Camilla joins her and says, "You just need to make a move first. He's probably scared since you were just dead a while ago."

Erica laughs, "I was wasn't I?"

"You were dead!" Camilla laughs.

"I was!" Erica replies. Soon the two are laughing hard. Tears fall from Camilla's eyes as she keeps laughing.

The two are interrupted when a girl stumbling by spills her drink on Camilla.

"Omigoshimsosorry!" the girl slurs, wobbling as she tries to stand still.

Camilla blinks and looks down at her wet clothes, "Eh. Who cares, I'll just go wear something of Lydia's."

With indifference, the birthday girl makes her way to the house, passing by Scott and Allison who are dancing close enough together that the all "just friends" reasoning flies out the window.

Allison smiles as she pulls Scott closer, moving her hips to the catchy beat. He grazes his lips against her neck and pulls his head back up to smile at her. Allison looks up after a moment and sees Scott staring intently at her, studying her.

"What?" she asks playfully, wrinkling her nose from her smile.

"You're beautiful," Scott says over the music.

Allison blushes and turns her face down, a smile filling her face.

"I'm serious," Scott tells her, causing her to look back up at him. It's then she realizes a strange intensity in his eyes. One that she hadn't seen since they were dating.

Allison laughs, not sure what to do. She starts dancing and pulling away from him causing him to chuckle and shake his head. Allison sexily maneuvers through the sea of dancers, keeping her eyes on Scott. She crooks her finger, begging him to follow her.

Scott didn't need a signal, though, and in an instant he is moving as Allison dances away. Her look provokes Scott.

Eventually, she runs out of space, nearly hitting the table that Isaac had just made his speech on. She laughs a sultry laugh when Scott catches up to her and wraps his arms around her small frame.

"What are you doing to me?" he asks, pressing his lips to her forehead.

Allison laughs again and tilts her head up. Their faces were so close, Allison could see every feature on Scott's face.

In the heat of the moment, she pulls her hand up and traces his firm jaw, a part of him which had always attracted her.

He watches as her eyes trail from his jaw to his lips, then coming back to look straight at him.

"Allison… I want you…" Scott says, his voice coming out huskily.

Allison, knowing her effect on the boy leans her face towards his ear and whispers, "How badly?"

Without warning, Scott pulls her face to his and kisses her. Allison feels her body go weak.

When they pull apart, Scott is the first to say anything.

"I want you back in my life like you used to be. You're my anchor, Allison. You always will be…"

Allison stares into his eyes and smiles a small smile, "What are you saying, Scott McCall?"

"I'm saying, I want you, Allison Argent, to be my girlfriend."

Allison, not needing to answer, kisses Scott, a bit more passionately this time.

"Does that mean yes?" Scott asks when they break the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers.

"What do you think?" she teases, kissing him again. The two stay locked in each other's embrace, kissing and smiling.

_TEEN WOLF_

Lydia's eyes scan the crowded room of kids until she locks eyes with Jackson. Ever so slyly she narrows her gaze and moves her finger to indicate that Jackson needs to come to her. With a sigh the boy obliges and begins to make his way over to her.

In less than a second he's in front of her and saying, "You summoned me."

"How do you feel about getting you cake and eating it too?" Lydia asks with a smirk.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look, Jackson, I respect you as an individual so I'm going to cut through the wall of crap that surrounds you and get this out of the way: you have a thing for Nolan Hayes, and that's fantastic. Well, I've got a thing for Stiles…"

"Wait, you and Stilinski? Seriously?"

Lydia raises an elegant eyebrow, "You like boys now and you're passing judgment?"

"Right," Jackson nods, "you and Stiles. Great."

"Anyway, I'd really like to be spending as much time with Stiles as I can. And while I think its great our sweet, innocent Nolan is making friends with someone other than the librarian, I'd really like him to be focused on making you moan."

"Where are you going with this Lydia?" Jackson questions.

Lydia rolls her eyes, "Go over to them and tell Stiles to scram, maybe even send him over my way. Then you'll have your boy and I'll have mine. It's a win-win. All four of us are happy and maybe you get to find out if Nolan's ever read anything erotic and picked up a trick or two."

"Go and deal with your Stiles drama alone, alright?"

Not willing to take no for an answer Lydia decides to take fate into her own hands.

With a shove, Jackson is moving toward Nolan and Stiles who stand against a brightly painted wall laughing. Jackson watches as Stiles does a lame imitation of a light saber and smoothly interjects by coming in with a smile.

"Stiles, Lydia is looking for you. So get lost."

"Well, Nolan and I were kind of in the middle of a…" Stiles begins, but Jackson locks eyes with him and his irises flash blue for just a second, letting Stiles know he means business.

"I'm gonna go find Lydia," Stiles says with a nervous smile, "So, uh, Nolan may the force be with you."

Nolan laughs again, "And with you, young Jedi."

Ever so casually Stiles backs away, running into table behind him causing three cups to tip over and spill on the floor. He smiles at the people around him and then steps over the puddle of whatever was in the cups and goes on in search of Lydia.

"Sorry you had to put up with that," Jackson says, "you get Stiles talking about Star Wars and he doesn't stop."

"It was fine, really," Nolan tells him, "I actually really like Stiles. He's one of the few people in Beacon Hills who understands the weird and embraces it."

"You really aren't weird dude."

"Trust me; I've got seventeen years to prove that I am."

"Seventeen? The other day in the library you said you were sixteen."

Nolan looks down at his sneakers and says, "It's sort of my birthday today."

"No way," Jackson says with a smile, "that's so cool that you and Camilla share a birthday. Why aren't you celebrating more?"

"Because, well, because when I was eight years old my sister died… on my birthday. So now I'm not really down with celebrating it because it's just a big fat reminder, ya know?" Nolan says, taking his eyes of the boy in front of him to stare holes into the ground.

"Oh… shit," Jackson whispers, "I had no idea, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay; I don't expect you to know every detail of my life. Annalise was the type of girl who was out there in the best sense of the phrase. She knew how to have fun, she's the first person to tell me I was a good artist… and she lived. She really did. She wasn't afraid to do anything, she wasn't afraid to audition for the school play or tell someone how she really felt," the boy sighs. "And maybe that was just the ignorance of her only being fifteen, but… Annalise was never one to stick to the status quo – but I am and I wish I wasn't."

"So stop sticking," Jackson states, "do something wild. Go streaking in the park. Punch a werewolf in the face. Go get a tattoo or something. Let's go do something crazy to ring in your seventeenth year."

A smile spreads on Nolan's face as he says, "Take me for a ride, Jackson."

The two are just about to leave when up stumbles Isaac. A red solo cup in his hand, he reeks of bourbon and he's spilling his drink all over the floor.

"Hold that thought," Jackson says, rushing over to his fellow beta.

"Jacks… ass," Isaac laughs, "you're a jackass. Ha."

"And you're drunk. What the hell are you doing Isaac?"

The boy's smiles turns to a frown when he says, "I'm trying to find my girl. Have you seen my girl? She's mine and she's hot and she's sexy, but she's also gorgeous. I love my girl… have you seen her?"

"I think I saw her run upstairs," Nolan says, coming up to the two werewolves, "she's probably still up there."

Isaac places a hand on Nolan's cheek and pats it affectionately, "Thank you, Bookworm. That's what Camilla calls you, she's the greatest. God, I love her… okay, well you two kids run along. I'm gonna go find my boo bear."

Before Jackson can insist that Isaac find some water to drink, the boy is already stumbling up the stairs in search of Camilla. Nolan and Jackson exchange a humor filled glance before the werewolf says, "So, ride time now?"

"Absolutely," Nolan smiles, as he follows Jackson out of the Martin house.

_TEEN WOLF_

Camilla smoothes the dress of Lydia's she had just put on, and admires her appearance in a mirror. Surprisingly, her drunk buzz had faded a bit and she was feeling less crazy. She reaches over and grabs her glass of water and chugs it down.

She turns and is about to go get more water when she sees a familiar dark haired woman in front of her, sobering Camilla instantly.

"Camilla," the woman speaks softly adding a foreign lilt to her name as she utters it. Camilla drops the glass to the floor, thankful when it doesn't shatter.

"Mom?" she cries out, not believing the woman before her.

"It's me, mija," Lola replies, lifting her arms to embrace her daughter.

Camilla is about to walk forward and hug her mother when reason flashes through her mind.

"Camilla? What's wrong?" Lola asks, concern crossing her face.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Mother," Camilla says, her chin wobbling.

"Camilla, darling, what are you talking about? You need to lie down, you've drank too much." The woman moves forward but Camilla backs away, anger on her face.

"Don't touch me, Malum. I know it's you," Camilla says squaring her jaw out.

"Mija…" the woman says sorrowfully. Camilla doesn't respond. After a moment, the woman before her sighs and shakes her head.

"Damn, I thought the drunkenness would play to my advantage. Oh well," The Root says from Camilla's mother's body.

"What do you want you bastard?" Camilla spits out.

"Wow, I thought you would like my gift. I brought your mother back to you on your birthday! I thought you would love it."

"We're going to get you, you know? I will do everything in my power to make sure you and your ghost ass or whatever you are goes back to the Other World. So enjoy your time, because you won't be here much longer."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," The Root says. Before either of them speak, they hear Isaac calling for Camilla from down the hall. "Well shoot, better scurry before your wolf boyfriend gets angry. Happy birthday, Camilla." With one last menacing look, The Root snaps and disappears right as Isaac enters the room.

"Babe! I've been looking for you everywhere! Why are you in here? Did you change? What did – " the boy stops when he sees the tears coming from Camilla.

Shaking him out of his stupor, a bit, Isaac rushes over to his girlfriend and brings her to him.

"Hey, what's wrong? Shhh, it's okay."

Camilla continues to sob and Isaac holds her to him, his hands petting her hair.

"C'mon, let's sit down," he says, pulling her over to Lydia's bed. Camilla sits down and starts to wipe her eyes.

"Babe, what happened?"

"Malum… he… he brought back my mother…" Camilla says, choking on her words.

"What? Like resurrected her?"

"No," she shakes her head. "Just her body. He used her just like Matt and Erica's dad and Paige and…" Camilla doesn't finish, her sobs taking over.

Isaac pulls her to him again protectively, "It's okay. He's gone. It's gone. I'm here."

"Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone," Camilla asks, pulling away and looking into his eyes.

"Of course I will."

_TEEN WOLF_

Peter pushes open the door of the old Hale house and peers inside. He's not nervous exactly, although he feels adrenaline pulsing through him like it does when he is excited. He steps through the foyer and into what used to be the living room where he sees a thin girl sitting on the floor in a yoga pose.

"Surprised to see you here," the girl says, whipping her head around to sneak a peek at the older Hale, "I thought McCall's Pack had classified me as the big bad."

Peter chuckles before he leans against the doorframe casually, "I'm sure as hell not part of McCall's pack."

"So what you're an omega? That's rich."

"If you don't mind my asking, who exactly are you right now?" Peter asks, as Malum gets up from off the floor.

The short blonde girl does a spin, "I'm Jane Dixon, one of the shooter's victims. I guess seeing as how I'm not one of Scott's buddies I'm also not important. How messed up is that? Just because I wasn't quick to befriend the lacrosse team I don't matter? I matter."

"You're really committing to that body."

The Root shrugs, "I've got a lot of free time between resurrections. Sometimes I like to play pretend," the last words escape the girl's lips with a twisted smirk.

Peter walks into the room, his eyes glowing blue in the shining moonlight, "Can we cut to the chase, Malum?"

"Certainly. What can I do for you, Mr. Hale?"

"I'm sure you, master of evil, know well and good that what I want more than anything is to be the alpha again. The only problem being that Scott is in the picture, him and all his adorable, teen pals in fact. Point is, is that I'm interested in striking a deal."

Malum pushes some short blonde hair behind her ear, "And what kind of deal is that?"

"You help me take down the pack and regain my role as alpha and I'll happily be your minion, no need to go through that pesky resurrection cycle. Just tell me what you want done and I'll do it."

The two stare at each other a moment while Peter begins to wonder if he's made a mistake by coming here hoping that the Root of Evil would suddenly have a change of heart and decide to do something for the good of another.

"Alright," Malum smiles, "I'll help you if you help me. That seems totally fair. You do realize though that I can't kill Scott and his friends – I can do things to them, come in the form of dead loved ones, strip them of their typical werewolf sense and everything – but you'll have to do all the killing yourself… I'm sort of

Non-corporal

."

Peter rolls his eyes, "Wouldn't be the first time I've killed someone."

"Oh trust me, I know."

"So we have a deal then?"

"We've got a deal. And it just so happens that I've already got the perfect job lined up for your first day."

_TEEN WOLF_

Danny hands Nolan a shiny ID card and smiles at the boy brightly, "If you want to get served, you're going to need this. Yeah, Jungle is kind of a crazy place, but they're actually pretty strict about the underage drinking thing."

"Thanks," Nolan smiles back, his eyes moving down to the fake ID. He smiles as he sees his name is now Matthew Grey, age twenty two. "Are you sure I can pass for this old?"

From the front seat the boy sees Ethan shrug, "I don't see why not."

Jackson, sitting in the driver's seat, turns around and smiles at Danny and Nolan in the back before he says swiftly, "Let's go live life."

The four boys are quick to file out of the car. The cold November air hits them as they hustle across the street. When Jackson sees Nolan shiver, he's quick to take off his leather jacket and give it to the boy. Nolan's face lights up as he accepts the jacket and before the auburn haired boy knows it the four of them are inside the bar.

_Bad Romance_ by Lady Gaga plays loudly throughout the bar as multicolored strobe lights flash out on the dance floor. Men and drag queens alike dance like crazy, covered in glitter and sweat out on the floor. Although the music is pounding heavily, Jackson can hear Nolan's heartbeat pick up with excitement.

"We're gonna dance!" Danny shouts before grabbing Ethan's hand to lead him to the dance floor.

Nolan looks around as a drag queen with a fuchsia feather boa throws back a shot of some kind at the bar and laughs loudly at something a scrawny man beside her said.

"This enough of a ride for you?" Jackson shouts over the music, hoping Nolan can hear him.

The boy nods, "This is perfect, actually. Annalise would be proud."

Jackson and Nolan exchange a smile and then walk over to the bar, instantly grabbing the attention of the shirtless man behind the counter who smiles at the two boys and asks what they'd like to drink – only after examining their IDs.

"Tequila shots," Jackson answers before Nolan can say anything. "We need lots of tequila shots for the birthday boy."

Wordlessly, the bartender sets ten shot glasses on the counter and then grabs the tequila. He quickly tips the bottle over and allows the brown liquid to pour out, filling each cup and also dousing the counter in alcohol. He next grabs a shaker of salt and sets a small bowl of limes beside that.

Reaching to his back pocket, Jackson produces his wallet and asks, "How much?"

"Oh they're paid for, courtesy of that guy over there," the bartender says and points to a man at the end of the bar wearing a bedazzled t-shirt.

"You've got an admirer," Jackson says to Nolan as he pours salt onto the boy's hand so he can take a shot.

Nolan rolls he eyes and licks the salt off his hand, throwing back the tequila, and finally putting a lime in his mouth to chase the alcohol. After licking his lips to clean off any leftover lime juice he says, "Yeah right, I'm standing next to a Ken doll. No way was that guy looking at me."

Jackson throws back his own shot, following Nolan's lead perfectly before he laughs and says, "You're hot, dude. Get over it."

Thanking his lucky stars that the bar wasn't all that well lit, Nolan blushes before he takes another shot.

Over and over again the boys do shots and laugh before all the glasses are empty. Feeling slightly dizzy, Nolan beams at Jackson and places a hand on his shoulder, Jackson smiles back not fully understanding why the boy seems so happy.

"Oh shit," Nolan says as _Chronicles of a Fallen Lover_ by the Bloody Beetroots begins to play, "I love this song. I love this song! Let's dance! You still owe me a dance from Halloween."

Jackson puts his arm out for Nolan to grab and the birthday boy is quick to grab it. The werewolf then leads him out onto the dance floor just as the bass drops and everyone around them jumps in perfect time with the song. When it slows, Jackson surprises himself by wrapping his arms around Nolan to pull him close and dance with him.

The two boys move slowly in the crowd as people continue to dance madly. It's a Saturday night and everyone is feeling alive.

Toward a corner of the dance floor Jackson sees Danny and Ethan kissing and eventually grinding on each other. Nolan's sighs happily and his breath smiles like lime and mint from a piece of gum Jackson hadn't realized he was chewing. Jackson keeps his arms wrapped tightly around Nolan who mimics him perfectly. The kids cling to each other as people around them move crazily, but no matter what they stay swaying gently to the song.

Suddenly Nolan pulls back, causing Jackson to wonder if he'd done something wrong. He begins to ask when out of nowhere Nolan meshes their mouths together in a moment of heat.

Caught off guard at first, Jackson begins to panic, but quickly allows the kiss to continue. Both hearts begin to race as Jackson's hands glide up to either side of Nolan's face to hold him steady – the two stop moving completely, caught in the kiss.

It's Jackson who pulls away first and when he speaks, he's breathless, "Finally."

"I've wanted to do that since you started eating lunch with me," Nolan giggles.

"That was worth the wait."

_TEEN WOLF_

A little over an hour later, Erica stumbles into the loft. She was planning on heading right to her room when she notices Derek sitting on the couch looking directly at her. The anger was clear even through Erica's blurry vision.

"Sup," she says, turning away quickly and trying to make it to her room without Derek noticing her intoxication.

"Come here," Derek commands.

"You know, I so would. But I'm tired and I just think I'm going to go to bed. Night," Erica scurries to get to her room, but Derek uses his speed and cuts her off, grabbing her wrist.

"Erica," he says angrily. She slowly looks up at him and looks right into his glare.

"Derek…" she says unsurely.

"You reek of vodka," he states.

"Well people were drinking..."

"Were you?" he questions.

"Why do you care? You're not my father," she answers, trying to pull her wrist from his grip. Derek tightens his hand around her in return.

"Erica."

The blonde sighs, "Fine, I was a little. So what?"

"So what? Erica, The Root of Evil is running around and you know he has a vendetta against you. Getting drunk was the stupidest thing you could've done. I shouldn't have let you go since you obviously have no self-control."

Anger rushes through Erica and she yells back, "What the hell is your problem, Derek? I'm home, I'm in one piece. I had someone drive me home. I'm fine! After all of the shit I've been through, you'd think you would have a little sympathy and understand that I wanted to just forget for one damn night!"

Derek doesn't respond, but he keeps his eyes locked on hers, his grip still tight.

"Just because you can deal with death easily doesn't mean everyone else can!" she yells, wiping the tears from her face with her free hand, angry that she had started crying. "I was with my parents for a week and then I got to see them murdered! How in the hell am I supposed to be okay with that? How am I supposed to just forget? I can't!"

Derek still doesn't speak but when Erica pulls away, he lets her. Rather than going to her room, she makes her way to the couch and sits down, burying her head in her hands and sobbing.

"Every day," she begins in a softer voice, "I see them. The blood. I see The Root's evil face in my father's body. I see my mother lying on the kitchen floor. Dead. I can't get it out of my head, Derek. I just can't."

She cries even harder and Derek moves to sit next to her. He grabs her and pulls her to him. She feels his strong arms around her and she sobs.

"I lose everyone. I just wanted one night to forget it. To not feel the hole in my heart," Erica manages through sobs. "It's not fair."

"I know," Derek says, speaking for the first time since Erica started getting upset. "I know."

"Derek," she asks, lifting her head from his chest, "What am I supposed to do? I can't forget it… I thought it would get better, but it gets worse. I wish I would've stayed dead."

"Don't say that," Derek growls. "Don't you dare say that."

"Why? My parents would still be alive! It's all my fault!"

"No it's not. It's The Root's. And we're going to send him back. I don't care what it takes. I'll do whatever I need to do."

The two stare at each other, emotions running through both of them. Derek sees the hurt on her face and slowly he brushes some blonde hair behind her ear and moves closer

The man can feel her heartbeat increase and he knows she can feel his do the same and in an instant of blind impulse, he leans down and kisses her.

Their passion grows and the kiss becomes more forceful. Derek's hands roam over Erica's body, wanting to feel every inch of her.

She runs her hands down to the bottom of his shirt and begins to pull it up. Derek realizes her actions and takes it into his own hands, pulling away from her for a moment to pull his shirt over his head. The moment his shirt is gone his mouth is back on hers and he lifts her up to put her on his lap.

Erica grabs Derek's face and holds on, kissing him hard. She runs her fingers through his hair, pulling a little.

Derek holds her at the small of her back and moves his hands lower, making her want to be even closer to him.

Without warning, however, he pulls away and is off the couch, his back turned to her.

"Derek what the hell?" she asks, confused.

"You're drunk Erica. It went too far," he answers. Erica can hear the pain in his voice. She studies the muscles in his back and she thinks about what to say next.

She decides not to argue and stands up.

"Fine, I'm going to bed," she says walking away.

Derek doesn't follow her and when she turns around, he isn't watching her so, rather than going into her own bedroom, she goes into Derek's.

She doesn't bother flipping on the light, but she goes to his dresser and pulls out one of his shirts.

Stripping down quickly, she pulls everything off except her underwear and slides on Derek's shirt, the hem of which hangs dangerously low on her.

She smiles and makes her way to his bed, sliding into the soft covers.

She makes herself comfortable and waits.

A few minutes later, Derek opens the door and walks in.

"Erica," he says.

She doesn't answer, hoping her plan will work. Her head still feels dizzy.

"Erica, I know you're not asleep," he warns her. Again, she doesn't say a word.

Eventually he sighs and she hears him slide off his jeans. A few moments later he slides into the bed on the opposite side, careful not to touch her.

Erica listens to his slow breathing and flips over on her side to face him.

"Erica, what are you doing?" he asks, turning to look at her. She shrugs in response.

A small smile forms on his lips and he shakes his head, "Go to sleep."

Instead of obeying, she moves closer and kisses him. He obviously didn't expect it, but he kisses her back anyways.

Before it can get heated again, he pulls away slightly.

"Erica," he groans. "We can't do this. You're still drunk."

"So what?"

"So I'm not doing this. Go to sleep, okay?"

"Fine," she says, pulling away and flipping onto her other side.

She hears him laugh and after a few moments she feels him move over and pull her close to him.

He puts his arms around her and rests one of his hands on her hips.

"Nice shirt," he says into her ear, making her smile.

She relaxes and places her hand over the one of his that rests on her hip.

"Goodnight, Derek," she says.

"Goodnight, Erica."

_TEEN WOLF_

At the same time, Camilla, almost sober, sits on Lydia's guest bed, brushing her hair. She waits for Isaac to get out of the bathroom.

When he finally opens the door and walks back into the room she smiles.

"You're sure Lydia doesn't care if I stay here tonight?" he asks, getting into bed next to her.

"It's my birthday, I can do what I want," Camilla says with a smirk.

"Well, technically it's not your birthday anymore…" Isaac teases, looking at the clock which told them it was a little after three in the morning.

Camilla frowns at Isaac who laughs.

"I'm kidding, babe. You can still do whatever you want. Especially to me," he flirts, pulling her to him and kissing her lightly.

She kisses him back but pulls away.

"What?" he asks, still smiling.

"I just… need to tell you something," she says.

His smile fades, "What, babe?"

Camilla sighs and says, "Graham… isn't just a family friend. He's my ex."

"What?" Isaac asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you… He just… brings back a lot of bad memories."

Isaac doesn't say anything, but he looks at her expectantly, wanting her to go on.

"You know how I said his dad and my dad were hunting friends? Well, Graham was… kind of my mentor. He helped train me when my dad couldn't. And I don't know, one day we were training and he kissed me… and that's when it all began. We didn't tell our parents because for one he was older than me and also because they probably just wouldn't be okay with it. We were together for a long time, and then my mom started getting sick, and I was just a mess and he wasn't there for me like I wanted him to be and so we broke things off. Then after she died, I saw him at her funeral and he kissed me and we were going to meet after her funeral. But later I found out he had a girlfriend who he brought. So I said a few choice words and I hadn't spoken to him since."

Isaac processes the information and before he can speak Camilla says, "I'm really sorry I didn't say anything. I was just so overwhelmed and I didn't want to deal with it… I'm so sorry… I—"

Isaac interrupts her by kissing her suddenly, shutting her up.

When he pulls away, he says, "I don't care. I'm just glad you told me now. That was the past, you don't have to deal with him anymore, okay?"

Camilla smiles and nods, leaning in to kiss him again.

"Actually, I kind of do," she says after a moment. "He's staying at my place tonight and tomorrow too."

Isaac laughs, "Well, you're not going to. You can stay with me at the loft."

Camilla chuckles and snuggles up against him.

"You know I love you, right?" Isaac tells her.

"I was wondering when you'd bring that up. I figured you were going to just pretend it didn't happen…"

"And why would I do that? I love you, Camilla. I could never forget that."

"I love you, Isaac," Camilla responds. Instantly, their lips are pressed together and things begin to heat up.

Isaac, keeping his mouth on Camilla's rolls on top of her. He pulls away and tugs off his shirt hastily. Camilla follows suit.

He smiles at her and leans back in to kiss her neck. The brunette grips her boyfriend's back and closes her eyes. After a moment, his lips are back on hers hungrily.

They continue their kissing for a while, and Isaac pulls Camilla up and works on the clasp behind her back.

When he succeeds they go back to kissing passionately. Isaac pulls away and Camilla sees the pleading in his eyes.

"Are you sure you…."

Camilla nods and grabs his face, bringing him to her again. After they strip off the remaining clothing and kiss for a bit more, Isaac pulls away again.

"I don't have…"

"I do, in my purse," Camilla says breathlessly, pointing to where her purse lays.

Isaac smiles at her, "Miss Argent, were you planning on getting me in the sack this whole time?"

Camilla smiles back and pulls him to her again, kissing him even harder. She is the one who pulls away, leaving him breathless.

She whispers in his ear, "Go get it."

Isaac follows her commands and is back within seconds.

They look into each other's eyes, ready to show just how much they love each other.

_TEEN WOLF_

Graham struts to his car, the sound his motorcycle boots make on the concrete is definite and the only sound around… at first. The boy isn't halfway to his vehicle when he hears the familiar heavy breathing of someone who'd been running through the woods.

A wolf is near.

Without hesitation the boy reaches into the inside of his jacket and pulls out a small knife.

"I hope that's you, Isaac," the boy whispers.

He stands firm, his heart pounding as he's ready for a fight. The heavy breathing is gone now, replaced by a rustling of leaves in the distance. Graham listens further, his muscles still tense and his heart still beating rapidly.

After a moment he gets up and proceeds again to his truck, keeping his knife firmly in hand.

A howl cuts through the air like an axe and Graham spins around just in time to see the werewolf come running toward him on all fours. Its eyes glow a bright blue as it lunges at him, snapping with its long teeth at his throat. Graham slashes at it and blood spills from the wounds he's caused.

The wolf howls again, this time rearing its head back before it ducks down and sinks its teeth into his throat.

Graham chokes on a scream as he can feel blood begin to pour from the bite. He watches as the wolf pulls away, its face returning to normal in the process. Blood now drips from the mouth of a man whose smile is illuminated eerily in the moonlight.

The man bends down slowly and whispers in Graham's ear, "The name is Peter, actually," before he puts his hands on both sides of the boy's head and snaps his neck, the cracking sound deafening to even the werewolf.

A gust of wind kicks up suddenly and Peter hears a short applause.

"Not bad," Malum says, coming up to the man in the form of a Hispanic woman he's never seen before, "I've got to say, I half expected you to chicken out, but I was wrong."

Peter wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, "I never go back on a deal."

"Well, that deal is locked into place now. You followed through and that won't go without reward."

_TEEN WOLF_

Nolan and Jackson rush into the Hayes house still kissing. The front door is left standing wide open as Jackson pins Nolan up against a wall and smashes their lips together. The heat the werewolf feels every time their lips touch is indescribable and unfathomably satisfying.

The auburn haired boy gets his fingers on the snap buttons of Jackson's blue and red plaid shirt and instantly rips it open, revealing the smooth mounds of muscle beneath. Nolan lets out a sigh.

"Jesus Christ," he says looking into Jackson's eyes, "it's like you're airbrushed."

Jackson chuckles and kisses Nolan again, beginning to toy with the zipper on the boy's jeans, "Are we going too fast? I don't want to rush anything. If you aren't ready or whatever we can press pause."

"Jackson?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and take your pants off."

The werewolf smiles devilishly and sheds his pants as Nolan pulls his t-shirt off and takes his own pants off the rest of the way. Both boys stand underwear clad now and in the blink of an eye Jackson has Nolan wrapped around him and on the couch.

They continue to kiss and the excitement they both feel is extremely evident. Nolan hooks his fingers around the waistband of Jackson's Calvin Klein boxer briefs and begins to pull him down when he suddenly stops and hauls himself off the boy, tossing a pillow on him.

"What, uh, what's going on in here?" a man asks from the doorway. Jackson looks up and quickly deduces that the man he's looking at is Nolan's father.

"Dad, I… it's not what it looks like. Actually it's exactly what it looks like… but, I swear it's not as bad as it seems," Nolan spits out.

Awkwardly, Mr. Hayes holds tosses Jackson's jeans to him, "You know when I said, 'Have a good time tonight,' you getting lucky wasn't totally what I had had in mind."

"Sir," Jackson says, pulling on his pants yet remaining shirtless, "this was all on me."

"I have the image of my son _on_ you burned into my mind forever, so believe me I know."

Nolan's face is burning red, "I've never wanted to die more than I do right now."

Nolan's dad tosses his son's jeans to him and throws Jackson his shirt. The boys dress silently, Mr. Hayes watching the whole time. When Jackson is fully clothed he reaches out a hand in hopes that Nolan's father will shake it.

"We're already pretty familiar," Jackson jokes, "but I'm Jackson Whittemore."

Staring at the boy's outstretched hand for a minute; the older man takes it and shakes it, "Marcel Hayes."

Embarrassed beyond measure, Nolan walks back out to the foyer and grabs his t-shirt, pulling it back on and taking a few deep breaths before he walks back into the living room. He stares at his father with wide eyes and hopes the man isn't mad.

"I'm so sorry dad," Nolan says, "I'm sorry to infinity and beyond. You weren't… uh…"

"Supposed to catch you?" Marcel finishes.

"Pretty much," Nolan admits, "I guess I forgot that you would be home. It's Saturday night and it's only," the boy looks at the grandfather clock against the far wall and sighs, "well, it's three in the morning. But I still forgot all the same."

Jackson clears his throat, "I think I should get going…"

"Not a bad idea," Marcel says flatly.

"Jackson, I..." Nolan begins, but is cut off when the lacrosse player smiles at him.

The boy says quickly, "If you aren't grounded for eternity or banned from contacting me, I hope to see you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Hayes. G'night, Nolan."

And just as quickly as he'd arrived, Jackson left.

Nolan now stood across from his father in a painful silence. His face had begun to cool down and his heart rate had returned to normal, but he was still terrified of what his father was going to say to him once he started on his usual roll.

"I'm not mad and you're not in trouble. I guess as long as you guys would've been safe there isn't much more to say," the man sighs as he crosses his arms, "I'm not totally thrilled about finding my son straddling his boyfriend? Or whatever that boy is to you, but no harm no foul."

The boy's jaw drops, "Seriously?"

"Do you want a punishment? Because I'm sure I can muster one up."

"No, no, it's just… I got off easy. I thought there'd be banishment and shame brought upon the Hayes family crest, but… use protection? That's all you got?"

Marcel nods, "Yeah, that's it."

"I'm going to go to bed now, before you have time to change your mind," Nolan scoffs, walking out of the room and into the foyer. Just as he reaches the steps though his father's words from that morning run through his head, "She's not here is she?"

Marcel comes out of the living room and looks up to his son, "No, she's not. They said they didn't think it was a good time. Maybe next month."

"You say that every month," Nolan sighs, heading back up the stairs.

"I miss your mother too," Marcel says to the boy as he continues on up the steps. It's clear though his words fall on deaf ears when he hears a door upstairs click shut.

In his bedroom, Nolan throws himself onto his bed, just as hot angry tears begin to run down his face.

"Happy birthday to me," he says quietly.

_TEEN WOLF_

_**A/N: Hey guys! Hope you've enjoyed the story so far! This was a super long chapter to make up for the chapters that weren't so long. To help you guys picture the other OC's we have a list of celebrities who we picture when we write: For Roxy - Taissa Farmiga, Graham - Sam Claflin, Marcel - Dylan McDermott, and Lola - Salma Hayek. Again, thanks so much for everything! Keep reading! **_


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